Returning Home
by johnsmithpocahontas
Summary: During the summer before his 4th year, Draco was mysteriously kidnapped by a man. 2 years later he was found. Returning home to his parents with unease was one thing, but going back to Hogwarts is a competely different story.HPDM Slash Sub!Draco
1. Kidnapping

**Returning Home**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters in this book!**

**Pairings: HP/DM duh!**

**Note to readers: this is set from one of the books that I've read. I hope you all enjoy!**

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**Prologue**

"Hurry up and get me some drinks!" Blaise Zabini moaned. "It's _so_ hot out here!" He toke a green cloth and wiped it across his forehead.

Pansy Parkinson scoffed and rolled her eyes, twisting her mouth in pure horror. "Blaise, there are so many times when I say this but I feel like you never comprehend what I'm saying: just because you _think _something doesn't mean you have to _say_ it! Jesus Christ, discard that cloth right now! I don't want any sweat-filled towels touching me!

I sighed, seeing my friends arguing like this, yet _again_. Pansy is a stuck-up snob, yeah, but the types of girls that are strong-willed and determined attract me. Not in the romantic way, mind you, because I've known Pansy since three years now (since our first year at Hogwarts) and it'd be like dating my sister. Ugh!

Inside, I can completely understand what Blaise is going through. It _is_ annoyingly muggy outside to say the least. The June temperature was boiling, and seeing the ducks swimming across the pond was aggravating.

"Oh – my – god," I cried out. Blaise and Pansy stopped at their quarreling and looked at me. "Are we just going to stay at the park all day and look at the nature? I'm bored and…I'm going to get a heat stroke any second now."

Pansy sighed. "To be honest, I guess it _is_ pretty scorching out."

"There's an ice cream stand nearby," Blaise offered. "I saw it on our walk over here."

Pansy shrugged. "Works for me. Black raspberry, please."

Blaise shot up a finger. "Oh, and a rocky road for me!"

My mouth dropped. Since when did _they_ decide that _I_, the almighty Draco Malfoy, was to buy their ice cream for them? "Oh, bugger that," I muttered hotly, marching off down the street to the ice cream stand.

I didn't mind doing things for my friends at all – they _were_ the ones who helped me cope through when I discovered that Harry Potter and his teammates had beaten the Slytherins (AKA me!) in the Quidditch match just two years ago, during our second year. Now in three months, I would reenter Hogwarts again for my fourth year. I overheard my dad talking about some sort of "international game" that he and his fellow ministry "friends" were going on about. It probably won't even happen. To say the least, _nothing_ happens at Hogwarts!

Seeing an old woman behind the ice cream stand, it took almost everything in will not to gasp. The horrid lady's hair was literally a bird's nest and she had no chin at all! Was that even possible? Oh, hold on, Crabbe and Goyle are authentic proof that it is.

I looked her up and down, sneering.

She grinned at me. "What would you like, dear?"

I cleared my throat. "I'd like to have a rocky road, a black raspberry, and…an almond joy." I tried not to watch as mosquito flew around her head.

She beamed. "You're greedy little thing, aren't you?" She giggled.

I glared at her in horror. Did she just call me a "thing"? That can't be possible. Mum is probably right – it is time for me to have my yearly checkup with a healer. "It's for my _friends_, thank you very much."

"Of course, of course."

I shook my head at her, growing impatient. A bee made way to her head now. I watched as it glided around her hair several times before landing directly on top of her heaped hair. "By any chance, you're not allergic to bees are you?"

She looked at me questioningly.

"Never mind."

She smiled. "Just a sec, dear." She scuttled to a freezer and pulled out a container. It was mostly likely rocky road. Taking her time, she scuttled back to the counter.

"Seriously, can you go a bit faster?" I asked.

Ignoring me, she scooped out a giant blob and mashed it into a chocolate covered waffle cone and handed to me. "One down, two more to go!" she chirped happily.

As I examined the tragedy that happened on the cone, she moved as fast as her tiny feet can take her. This time, she had trouble opening the freezer. "Oh dear, how did this happen?"

"Oh for the love of god, just use magic and open the stupid thing!" I all but shrieked.

"But the good old fashioned way is best," she said. "The hard work on the ice cream makes a difference in the taste."

"Yes, because it's all dripped with sweat!" I slammed the cone down with some knuts next to it. "You can keep the cone and the money, lady. It could do you some good."

I turned around and tramped down the narrow strip of road. "_Stupid woman_," I spat. Suddenly, I felt someone grab me from behind. My instinct to scream was cut off short when a rough hand swatted over my mouth. "Scream and you die _now_," he growled in my ear. I looked in front of me, and finally realized that there was nobody ahead to scream for. Before I could do anything, I heard a loud bang. The scenery of the park swirled before my eyes until I found myself dropping to the ground.

I looked up. He'd apparrated me to what seems to be the dining room of a shabby house.

"Don't look so surprised, boy," a voice said.

I snapped around and saw a man with greasy black hair and dark eyes. He was staring straight at me with such intensity that I nearly looked away. "Who are you?" I demanded. "Get me back home!" He looked to be around his late twenties, thirty-five at the most.

"No," he whispered, coming closer. I backed away. "I don't take orders from a _teen_ager. You do as I say, got it?" He grabbed me by my gorgeous hair and yanked on it.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled. If only he knew how long it actually took for me to gell it back this morning…

"I said, _got it_?!" he repeated in the strained voice. His breath smelled of alcohol.

My eyes widened, if possible. It was clear that whoever this man was, it was obvious that he wasn't playing around with his words. Either I do something for him, or something worse will happen to me.

I gulped loudly and nodded, feeling tears threaten to fall. I mustered up my courage and kept them in. If only I knew how much longer my courage would be upheld…

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I hoped you all enjoyed this so far! It was really fun writing it. Oh my god, did anyone spend time watching Dancing with the Stars at all this season? Go Aaron Carter, Mark Decascos, and Louie Vito! Wohoo!


	2. Finding

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters in this book!**

**Pairings: HP/DM duh!**

**Note to readers: this is set from one of the books that I've read. I hope you all enjoy!**

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**Two Years Later…**

"I don't know about this, Wilkes," I say, shivering in the cold.

"I'm only doing what's right for you."

We were outside, standing on a sidewalk a few meters from the Flourish & Blotts. Because it was already November, it was a slightly breezy day. The darkness of the night only made the atmosphere seem, if possible, only creepier.

"Are you sure?" I ask, forcing myself to look up at his hard face, his left cheek marred with a scar. "I mean, I can stay, if you want…" Fog comes out of my mouth, because of the parky weather.

"I'm letting you go, and you're reluctant to stay with me?" His eyebrows shot up.

Deep inside me, I knew that if he'd given me the chance, I'd run away as fast as I can. But now that it's actually happening, I really didn't know what to do. If I turn around, wouldn't he just hex me?

He growls. "Look, I've had enough of your whining! To tell you the truth, I couldn't care less about whether I take you with me or not, but the ministry hasn't given up on searching for you yet, not much less your _body_."

I backed away slowly.

"If anyone asks anything about your disappearance, you ran away two years ago because you were fed up with Hogwarts, you got it?" Suddenly, he shoves me back. "I know where to find you, Malfoy, so don't even think about telling anyone about me."

I nodded my head. In two seconds flat, he disappeared. I let out a deep sigh of relief, unsure of what to do now. I bounce on my shoes for a while, trying to picture my life before _he_ came…

"_Does it hurt terribly, Draco?" Pansy asks, drawlingly._

_I shrugged. "It comes and it goes. Still, I consider myself lucky. If it wasn't for Madam Pomprey, another minute or two and I could have lost my arm."_

I finally decide to go into the bookstore. The bell of the door startles me as I walk in. Glancing around at the place, it was hard to imagine that nothing really changed at all. It was still old and unkempt, with the weird smell nevertheless lingering around the place. There weren't that many people here, for obvious reasons that it was nearly midnight.

"Need help there, boy?" an old man asks, stepping out from behind a bookshelf.

"Ehm," I say, "no. Just trying to find a book…for school."

"I see. Call me if you need anything." He returned to placing books on the shelf.

I would've commented on his lack of hair, but the awkward silence at the bookstore kept me from ruining the tone.

I take my time browsing around. I pick up a copy of _Hogwarts, a History_ snickering. I remember how obsessed the Chipmunk girl was about this book. Even when the squirrely Longbottom forgot to wash his hands before touching the materials for Potions class, she gave him a lecture about the insanitation of the ancient times at Hogwarts. It was always "Hogwarts, a History this" and "Hogwarts, a History that." The thought made me wonder if she's like this now, or if she's moved on.

The bell and screeching noise of the door opening alarms my attention. Did Wilkes suddenly decide to return to get me? Hiding behind a bookshelf, I move some books over to peek through the space to see who it is.

I gasp.

A squat, round man strides in, his brown long coat hugging to his body. Slung around one of eyes was a large, fake-ish one. His hair reached his shoulders and was chaotic and stringy. How long ago exactly did this man take a bath? His head alone probably had over a thousand deadly germs living in it. He was a nutter, for sure.

"Ah! Alastor Moody," the old bookstore owner exclaims. "What can I do for you this very fine evening?"

"Eh just thought to stop by and get a few things…If it weren't for the nasty plonk, I would'a been asleep myself…"

He glances around the place.

Even though I knew it was impossible for him to see me though the books, I ducked my head very low. When I muster my nerves to peek through, I was taken aback when I saw that Moody was looking directly at me.

"What'cha hiding back there, boy?" he barks at me.

Making sure I had my poker face on, I stroll out from behind the shelf. "What're you talking about? I'm not hiding _anything_." I hold my hands up.

He glares at me and squints his eyes. Suddenly, he comes closer.

I back away. "What're you doing? Hasn't anyone ever told you not to be a slob and indignant to strangers?"

"Shut up," he mutters. He peers at me from mostly his unusual eye, and suddenly he stops breathing. "No…" he whispers, shocked. "You can't be…" Abruptly, he grabs my by my wrist and pulls me.

"Let me go!" I cry, using my idle arm to push myself form him. "Let me go or I'll inform the authorities and have you arrested!"

"You should be locked up for your attitude, Malfoy," he growls.

I stop fighting. "What'd you call me?"

"I called you Malfoy. That's your name, or did you forget that too?"

I shake my head slowly. "You don't know what you're talking about, you madman. Now unhand me from your putrid presence!"

"You fooled e'ryone but you can't fool me. How old do you think I am?"

How old you look, I want to say. But instead of talking back, I shut myself up and allowed myself to be taken away by him. He apparrates us to a location, most likely the inside of a building, which looks just the opposite of what he is – it's grand, with floors so clean and shiny that I could nearly see my own reflection in it. There were pillars inside, almost reaching the ceiling. Even though I'm aware of the lateness of the hour, there were so many people scattered around that it was hard not to be in awe.

I close my mouth, and wipe at it to make sure I wasn't drooling. "Where is this place?" It oddly looked familiar. "Is this…"

"This is the Ministry of Magic. You should know where this is, seeing as your father used to work here. He still has close connections with some of the people around," he muttered.

I nod to let him know I'm listening. "Yes, but, you're not turning me in, are you?"

He chuckled. "You'll only fall into the right hands, Malfoy." He stops at a wide door. I stop behind him. "You're not going to run away this time, are you, Malfoy?"

"Maybe," I answer back.

He opens the door and I see several people in there, sitting at an oval table. A woman with blue hair perks up at us and waves. Suddenly, her hair changes to green. I jump back, knowing I should be well prepared for what was to be expected in the magical world – the _real_ magical world.

"Welcome back, Alastor," a dark, large man says, standing up. He stood up to be extremely tall, well past six feet, and his bulging muscles were a perfect match for his height. He peers over Moody's shoulder. "Who do you have with you?"

Moody leers at him. "Only the person we've spent two long years searching for." He turns to me. "Why don't you introduce yourself to them?"

I want to hurdle a bludger at him for having everyone stare at me with such intensity. I try giving him my evil eye, but his facial expressions don't change a bit. "Ehm…Well," I stutter. Hold on – Malfoy's don't stutter. I straighten my back. "I'm Draco…Draco Malfoy."

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End of Chapter 2! I hoped you guys enjoyed this! It took me a while to write. You're only lucky since it's the weekend because it will be EXTREMELY on Monday because of school! Please, review this book! And no bad comments, please. :)

BTW, it's nearly Halloween! Excited? I am! I'm being Snow White this year. My costume is amazing, to say the least!


	3. Questioning

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters in this book!**

**Pairings: HP/DM duh!**

**Note to readers: this is set from one of the books that I've read. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Time literally stops in the room. No one was talking. No one was moving…Merlin, they were all staring at me! Looking closer, I realize that one of the aurors is none other than John Dawlish. He and my dad were never on good terms. My dad complained about his lack of hygiene and dumpiness. I remember Dad scoffing about how he probably couldn't even reach the doorknob.

"Draco Malfoy, you say?" the only female inquires. Her hair changes from grass-green to a fiery red. "Blimey, you can't be…I haven't seen you since our last reunion nearly ten years ago!" What was she talking about? My family never had reunions…except for that one day I turned six years old. But that wasn't possible! The crazy-hair lady couldn't _possibly_ be related to me…could she?

I look at her questionably.

"I'm Dora Tonks…or you might remember me as my birth name – Nymphadora?"

Oh my god. Is she really? I remember seeing her. She was the one who gave me my first balloon that evening! I didn't know that her hair could change colors.

The dark man clears his throat. "Sap time's over. Let's get down to business."

"Couldn't agree more," Moody mutters, walking over to the table and sitting down. He looks at me and jerks his head to the seat next to him.

I roll my eyes, letting him know that I couldn't care less about what he demands me to do, but I sit down anyway. There was silence after that. I fiddle with my fingers for a while, then peer at the walls. They were pasty white and looked like they could use some color. I tap my feet on the ground, making sure that once and a while I'd "accidentally on purpose" jab Moody on the toes (the big toe was aimed). I look at the mahogany table. "Was this always mahogany?"

"For Merlin's sake, of course this table was always mahogany!" Moody explodes. "What, you think that the table felt bored of its compositions and decided to change its wood into cedar because its redder or because it 'feltlikeit'?"

"Calm down, Alastor," the dark man says with a twinkle in his eyes. "We haven't even begun yet.

"Agreed," I say.

The dark man turns toward me with a serious expression on his face. If I weren't a Malfoy, I'd want shrink right away. "My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt. I'm a senior auror, and I've worked here for quite plainly _years. _Malfoy, you do realize that we've spent the forty-eight months looking for you, right?"

I nod.

"Will you tell us about what happened?"

I frown and squirm in my seat.

He nods perceptively. "Alright. I'll tell you about what happened on our side of view. _Accio_," he whispers, gripping his slightly crooked wand in his hand. Studying it further, I apprehend that sculpted on the side was the hair of dragon heartstring. I nod my head in approval, admiring his good taste. A document flies into Shacklebolt's hands and he opens it up, reading over the notes. "On the 8th of June, you disappeared while at an outing with your fellow Slytherin students, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. Supposedly, you went to go get ice cream for the three of you, but never returned." He looks up, gazing at me deeply, searching for remembrance in my face.

"What do you want me to say?" I ask hotly. "It's all true, if that's what you're asking."

Tonks butts in. "We want you to tell us what happened afterwards…why you went missing for so long."

Shacklebolt nods. "Don't expect to just come back into this world without an answer to everything."

I close my eyes, trying not to remember that day. "Why didn't you find me?" I ask, my voice barely over a whisper. I'm shocked to find my voice quivering. "Why did it take all of you two years to find just one person?"

Dawlish blinks at me sympathetically. "We didn't have enough evidence to find you. If we could, you wouldn't have had to wait so long." He shook his head. "The thing is, Malfoy, you just disappeared! You can't really get much from such little, or no, substantiation about where you are."

Tonks leans over the table and adds, "We figured the only way for a person to vanish so quickly with no one seeing was apparration."

My head snaps up. My reaction must've been a good sign for them, letting them know that their assumption was correct.

"The thing is," Moody says, "you were only thirteen, almost fourteen. Someone over the age of sixteen must've taken you."

My mouth drops and suddenly, my tongue starts to feel dry. I gulp again. "I'm not telling you anything. I'm not some puppet you can get information out of."

Moody slams his fist on the table. "What's going to happen to you if you _do_ tell? What's keeping you so confidential that you can't even talk about who kidnapped you!"

I close my eyes again, trying to block their words out.

Suddenly, Tonk's voice breaks through. "Enough, Alastor. He's only sixteen years old. You can't expect him to open up after all he's been through." She bends forward. "The last thing he wants to go through is questioning about his captor. He probably misses his family. We should send him back home…back to his real life." She pauses. "Back to Hogwarts."

Moody finally nods. "Hogwarts will do him some good. It always does, to a person."

Dawlish stands up and pats me on the back. "I hope you enjoy Hogwarts this year. A time to reconnect with your fellow students. Maybe you should start new goals this year. How about getting a girlfriend? 'Wouldn't be hard, considering you turned out okay." He winks at me.

I roll my eyes. I don't need an auror who thinks he's a genius counselor to set up my goals for me. And I already _know_ that I'm good-looking! Heck, I'm gorgeous! I stand up as well and head out the door.

"Who's going to take him home?" I overhear Moody asking.

"Not me," Tonk chirps. "I don't mix in too well with the Malfoy family, let alone his father. My reputation as the first and only person in the family to be a Hufflepuff doesn't stand too strongly."

I smirk when I hear Shacklebolt ordering Moody to take me home. Payback's a bitch, after all.

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Hi everyone! Once again, I'm only asking for reviews! I feel pretty odd right now. I'd just gotten home from grocery shopping at Market Baskets and guess what? They were giving out FREE cookies and cupcakes! I was like, "Wohoo!" Anyhow, my twin sister was being annoying for wanting to be a pack of Oreo's at Walmart instead of Market Baskets. I don't know about you, but the taste of Oreo's is the same to me regardless of what brand/store.

I just finishsed eating spaghetti that I helped my Mum make. Not my favourite, but it's still a geniune classic. :)

Dang it! I need to type up a paper to study for the stupid Science test I have on Tuesday...I regret the day I signed up for Honors Science. Trust me guys - if you ever have a chance, good for you, but for those of you who aren't in Honors Science, I envy you! My cousin is in regular Science with the same exact teacher that I have and she has an A+ while I have a B! Like, seriously?

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	4. Laughing

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters in this book!**

**Pairings: HP/DM duh!**

**Note to readers: this is set from one of the books that I've read. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

The Malfoy Manor, even today, still stands proudly. I frown at it, as its shine and righteousness glares back at me. I slow my pace down, lingering behind Moody. Even though I could take off right now, and just live my life without being under a microscope, I knew that in the end, my role as the Malfoy heir will be back with confidence. "Um…Maybe we should stop a bit." I hesitate. "We should take a break."

Moody turns around and looks at me like I'm crazy. "Take a break?" he repeats. "We're three feet from the entrance of your house and you want us to…take a break."

I nod. At least he understands English.

"They're your parents, for Merlin's sake! They won't judge you for anything."

I raise an eyebrow.

He sighs. "To a degree, I do suppose the Malfoy family is a bit stranger than most families, but it makes no difference." He turns around and struts forward. "Now come along, boy – don't make me drag you into your own home."

I let out a breath. "Some home," I mutter. As I knock on the door softly, I keep thinking about all the things my dad has done to nag me. It was always about me not being perfect, or at least up to his standards. During the second year, he practically forced me to join the team. When I didn't make it in, he finally bought the broomsticks to buy my way into the team. It was embarrassing, but worth it, because it turns out that no matter how dumb he (or his teeth) looks, Flint was fun to hang around, as well as the other players.

I guess Moody got aggravated with me and starts thumping on the door, verses my tiny knock. "Open up!" he screams.

Finally, the door bursts open. "What in Merlin's beard is this all about?" a tall, broad-shouldered man demands. He had long blonde, almost white, hair that he had tied into a ponytail, and was wearing a silky night robe. If this man was trying to prove that masculine men could indeed wear girly clothes, it's not working. "Ah – Alastor Moody. Long time, I believe, since we last met."

Moody nods gruffly. "I guess we were both too busy with our occupations." Or lack there of, I want to add in, since I've known since my third year that Dad had quit his job at the Ministry of Magic.

My dad nods, with almost a sneering look etched on his lips. "Pity…" he drawls. He suddenly stands even straighter, if possible. It's like his life got snapped back in when he saw me. "And who's this?"

I glance at Moody. He nods his head at me, signaling me to make my statement. "I'm your son, Dad."

After ten seconds of silence, Dad opens his mouth and cries, "Narcissa! Come quick!" I hear footsteps rushing over to where we are.

"What is it, Lucius? What could possibly be so –" Mum stops and stares at me. If I weren't already surprised, I would've been dead shocked when she suddenly pushes Moody out of the way and lunges at me. "Oh, Draco!" she sobs. "Draco, is it really you?" She uses her hand and cradles my head in it as she studies my face. I see the tears streaming down her cheeks and clutched to her pale eyelashes. "Oh, it is…your hair, your high cheekbones…your eyes." She starts sobbing again. I didn't know how to react. I wanted to break down in tears with her, but instead, I kept it all in. I pat her back soothingly.

"Mum, it's really me…I've missed you too." I hug her even tighter. "It's great to be home," I whisper.

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**A few weeks later…**

"Draco, where are you?" Mum calls from inside the Manor.

I let out a sigh. "I'm here, Mum. In the garden!"

It wasn't a few seconds later until I see her head pop out from over the cleanly cut, rectangular bushes. Her hair was up in a fashionable bun, and she was dressed in a pretty orange dress with flowers on it. She probably went out today. "Guess who's here…"

I didn't even have to guess. "Pansy, Blaise, come out!"

The two of my friends jump out from behind Mum. Pansy's dressed in a red sweater with a white skirt, black tights, and boots. She really has grown out of her pug face and into an undeniably pretty girl, standing at 5'6. Blaise was the same, except even taller and more muscular than before. At fourteen, he was already tall and, uh…"matured". But now, with all of the six-pack, height, clothes, and I don't know, _hair_, it was hard not to get jealous from looking at him. Here I am, sixteen years old, and I still look like the fourteen year old teenager I was back then. "Draco! You're wearing the moccasins I got you!"

I yawn and stand up, stretching. "No offense, Pansy, but I'm only wearing it because it's comfortable and warm. If you haven't noticed, it's _freezing_ out."

Mum walks up to me and drapes a green, fuzzy blanket over my shoulders. "Which is why you should be inside instead of lying down on the grass."

I grin at her. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much," I drawl.

Blaise scoffs. "I see you haven't grown since yesterday."

"What? Do you expect for me to grow five inches in one night?" I ask. "Besides, I'm perfectly healthy for a sixteen year old. Look, I haven't quite gotten there yet, but…Mind you, 5'7 is _the_ average height for a teenager of my age and gender. Anything under that is dwarf-like and anything over that is freakishly tall." I cover my mouth. "_Oops_. 'Didn't mean to diss you, Blaise," I say, smirking.

While Pansy giggles, Blaise rolls his eyes. "Ho-hum, very funny," he mutters.

I smile at my friends. Since the night I arrived home, Pansy and Blaise have come over almost every single day. It was hard, since they still went to Hogwarts and all, but they managed to get here every time with Dumbledore's approval of my occurrence. I had thought it'd be hard to open up to them, but when I first spoke to them for the first time in two years, I realized that they really hadn't changed at all. They were still the Slytherin, snarky, over-egotistical people that I'd known before. When we felt tired, we'd spend some nights just watching the stars outside, while others just doing ridiculous stuff. Just four days ago, Blaise squirted us all with orange juice and was forced to clean it all up without using magic.

I remember there were other days where they brought over Theodore Nott, Millicent Bulstrode, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. Theodore was still reserved, Millicent was still…weird, and Crabbe and Goyle were outstandingly so indifferent that I swear their personalities didn't change at all! Goyle has gotten quite tall and much leaner as well. I was impressed, to say the least.

Mum pats me in the shoulder. "You better get inside now and pack up."

I frown at her. "Pack up for what?" I perk up. "Are we going to France?"

Pansy lets out a sigh. "No, genius, you're going back to _Hogwarts_. With us!" She puts an arm around Blaise's shoulder. "Your mom owled us the other day to tell us the news. I can't wait! Think about our Hogsmeade weekends!" She grabs me by the shoulder and hugs me.

"But…Isn't this too early?" I look at my mum, searching for an answer.

She shakes her head. "Draco, we've put this on long enough. Sooner or later, you're just going to have to get back."

"I pick later."

"You can't make the decisions here, unfortunately," she says softly. "You need to keep up with your grades and graduate. Back then, you always used to talk about working at the Ministry."

I grimace, not caring if she noticed or not. "Can't we talk about this later?"

"No, Draco. You're returning to Hogwarts, and that's final." She turns to Pansy and Blaise. "You two don't mind dragging him to his room to help him pack, do you?"

Blaise grins. "We can handle it, Mrs. M."

Great. This is just about the last thing I need.

* * *

Hi everyone! I'm stoked because it's almost Halloween, and for the first time in literally YEARS, it's going to be on a weekend (I think?)! I just hope that people are going to pass out Reese's, because they're my absolute favorite chocolate candies, ever! Second would be Snicker's, Butterfinger's, or Babe Ruth's...

Even though nobody probably cares, I had, like, the sickest week last week! When I mean "sick," I do literally mean sick! (I'm not one of those people who say "sick" like "cool...") So on Monday, I woke up with hives. It was awful. It was the first time anyone in my family has ever gotten it. My entire body was on fire and it was SO itchy! I went to school wearing a scarf, long (skinny) jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and I was even considering wearing gloves, but that would've been weird. My friends kept asking me what was wrong, and OMG...it was just bad. My mum picked me up from school 20 minutes after it started to drive me to the doctor's. They think that I'm allergic to starfruits.

Then on Thursday, I had athlete's foot. It was the first time for me. Obviously, I played tennis too much. The day before, I'd complained to my friends in P.E. about my toe and my friend Kenny just laughed and teased me. The next day I went to school with a huge toe-cast. No one, besides Kenny, noticed it though, thank god!

So...I'm joining lacrosse and tennis this year. Awesome huh? Because no one's reading this rant, I'll give my personal thanks to me viewers and those who've reviewed me! Thank you all SO much!

**PureSlytherin4vr: thank you so much! if i had to pick any house, i'd pick slytherin too! some may ask why, but duh - it's just awesome. they've got, like, the hottest actors in it!**

**kogu17: nice, you're the first one to review! *high five*!**

**xo i love emmet xo: love how you commented not ONCE, but TWICE!**

**MDarKspIrIt: thank you. btw, nice name. it's spontaneous, but in a good way!**

**Teresa: omg my cousin's name is teresa! she lives in california though! or was it georgia?  
**

Thank you all reviewers and viewers SO MUCH! It gives me the motivation that I need! Remember, review more, you guys, because I'm kind of stuck about what to write right now.

**Toodles!**

(BTW if you didn't want me to put your name up and are somehow offended by it, let me know and I'll take it down!)

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	5. Dreading

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**Please review, guys! This took me, like, THREE hours to write, so I hope it was worth something! And Dancing with the Stars starts in TWO minutes so, yup, it's a huge devotion!**

**Title: Returning Home by almond-lover**

**Rated: T for Teens!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters in this book!**

**Pairings: HP/DM duh!**

**Note to readers: this is set from one of the books that I've read. I hope you all enjoy!**

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**On their way to Hogwarts...**

"Hmm…" I say, pulling out the gell, holding it with a small, round hand mirror. "Should I gell my hair back? Like old days?" We were on the train, almost to Hogwarts. It was scary to imagine that in just a few hours, I was going to bump into people who I've never met or even thought about in the two years that I've been gone. If Scarhead's taller than me now…Oh my god, I'm going to murder him.

"I like it better without the gell," Pansy says, studying me.

"Are you sure?" I ask her. "Are you super sure?"

"Merlin's beard, it's just gell," Blaise moans. "What more could you two possibly debate about it?"

I ignore the obnoxious annoyance. "Pansy. Are you really sure?" Seeing her nod, I lock my gell away. I'm already in my school robes. Mum had bought them from Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions just a week ago, along with my other new clothes. Underneath, I was still wearing Pansy's moccasins. I had considered wearing shoes with extremely high heels to make myself look taller because it's not like anyone's going to lift my robes up to stare at my feet, but I finally decided against it. Honestly, I don't need anyone hexing me or sending me restraining orders for tripping on top of them. "How long is it going to be until we get there?" I ask.

"Only a few more, Draco," Pansy answers. Blaise taps his finger against the windowsill.

I spend the rest of the fifteen minutes chatting with them. We even play a game of Wizards Chess which of course, Pansy won all rounds. Not only is she all for looks, she also turns out to be a statement for brains and logic as well.

When the train slowly goes to a halt, I grab both Pansy and Blaise's arms. "This is it, guys," I say.

They nod and follow me out of the compartment and off the train. It was slightly chilly out, so rowing to Hogwarts didn't seem very appealing to me, but with Blaise's stupid jokes and splashes toward Pansy, it was somehow very enjoyable. As soon as I step inside, the warmth radiating from the air hit me like an ocean crashing against the rocks. I stand around awkwardly until Blaise finally drags me to the entrance of the Great Hall. "Ready, Draco?" Blaise asks.

I frown at him. "Is everyone in there?" I ask.

He nods, glancing at his watch. "Everyone should be eating dinner right now." He grins. "I hope Goyle and Crabbe haven't eaten all of the drumsticks! They know how much I worship them." I try to laugh at his joke, but it was impossible to get rid of the queasy feeling I had inside my stomach.

Pansy pats my shoulder. "You're going to do fine, Draco. If you keep up at being yourself, everyone's going to think you're the same old Draco Malfoy and won't pity you for being kidnapped and all that load." Like those words were any help. Gee, Pansy, way to be a good friend!

She opens the doors to reveal the liveliest scene I've ever seen in a long time, more than I'm used to. There were thousands of students, all of which varied in sizes and looks, sitting at the four long tables. Everyone was talking animatedly to each other like there was no end and it was more than I could take. But in an instant, as soon as we started strolling in, silence spreaded throughout the massive room like a pandemic.

I try to keep my head held up high, but end up lowering it to look at my feet to avoid the curious stares. Pansy and Blaise lead me to the Slytherin table where I sit down with them. Theodore offers me a smile in which I return. At least I'm back in the Slytherin territory, where I'm comfortable.

Pansy nudges me and points to the front of the room.

The old man, whom of which I'm still surprised to be standing alive (if not standing at all), otherwise known as Professor Dumbledore stands up and clears his throat. "_Sonorous_," he utters. His booming voice is now heard. "As you may have heard, Draco Malfoy is returning to Hogwarts. We'd be pleased to see you treat him with good care for the remarkable reappearance that has occurred."

Looking around, I still see everyone looking at me. Bright red hair catches my eye at the Gryffindor table. It was Weasel – what a shocker. Still 6'2 with the childish freckles. Jeez Louis - will that poor kid ever grow out of his state? Sneering at him, I turn to see the girl sitting next to him. She has brown wavy hair, still untamed, but at least looks, I don't know...more _average_ than the last time I've seen the dorky beaver. It was then that I turned to look at the boy sitting next to her that I realized he was gazing straight at me.

I quickly turn away, but then realizing that I'm, err, not afraid of a challenge, I look back at him. It was Scarhead, no doubt. If it weren't for those hideous, dorky glasses, I would've completely missed the fact that it was him. He looked really matured. He was much taller and toner than I was, his hair still dark and unkempt, but it was his eyes that caught me in a hold. They were as green as emeralds. Oh, Merlin, this is corny. Emeralds are ugly, not pretty, so that's supposed to be an insult to Potter. But seriously, what is up with those circular glasses? I know Potter's, like, slightly vision-damaged for sure, but whoever bought the glasses for him (most likely his Muggle family) must've been blind! Either that or they really hate him because I can't imagine any guardian buying that for me! Even though I'm not an expert, it's not just a fashion don't! It's a huge no-no!

I sigh at my pathetic argument going on inside my head, trying to ignore the guffawing and slurping of the guy sitting next to me.

"So, Draco, what do you think of this chicken?" Blaise asks, interrupting me. He wiggles his eyebrows at me, while literally ripping and tearing the chicken into pieces with his teeth.

A wave of disgust flash my fast. I open my mouth. "It's a pleasure," I reply. The slurping kid continues to slurp his meat. Yes, meat. And not only is he slurping his turkey, he's also doing revolting stuff to his food. The eating habits of teenagers these days...I turn to the disturbance. "Oh, for Merlin's sake, could you use a fork? Or perhaps a spoon? They invented it for a reason. Would you like to borrow mine?" I demand. "Here," I press, tossing him my golden fork.

The kid grins at me. I stare at the spinach stuck between his teeth. "Why thank you! I'm Graham Montague, by the way," he snorts. "Hey, you used to be on the Quidditch team, right?"

I look at him quizzically. "Err, yeah. Why?"

He smiles. "I'm the captain this year. We still have a spot open. One of our players are injured at the moment. Adrian Pucey got hexed by some Gryffindor a week ago. He called one of them a tard-fingered billybot."

I shrugged. "I would've called them a greasy-sacked dinglelog."

He chuckles. "See, that's the kind of spirit we need on our team! If you could just get everyone to work hard, we could definietly win our game for sure! You should try out this weekend. We haven't won a single game yet!"

"I'll think about it," I say. Glancing at Blaise, he continues to waggle his eyebrows at me.

"Draco," Blaise says. "I'm on the Quidditch team. Crabbe and Goyle are on it too, as beaters." He leans in close to me and drops his volume. "Hey, is it just me, or are the Gryffindorks staring at you?" Casually, I glance over my shoulder to see the Weasle, the Weaslette, and two other people looking at me directly in the eyes. I jump on my seat. Blaise laughs. "Looks like the Weasleys, Finnegan, and Thomas are curious. Try not to hurt them too badly during class."

I laugh with him. "That's the _last_ thing I'd do," I drawl sarcastically.

Even though I know Pansy has absolutely no clue about what we're talking about, she gives out an incredibly loud cackle. "Oh, Draco, you're so funny!"

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The food was lying a few inches from me. I glanced around. Nobody was here. Hesitantly, I raised my hand and touched the perfectly sliced bread in front of me. Suddely, the door was knocked open, and a tall, dark figure strode in.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

I gasped, and stepped away from the table. I looked down, at my neatly folded hands. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to."

"Yeah, right," he snarled. "I saw what you tried to do! You were about to steal!"

I shook my head. "No, I wasn't going to steal, I promise!"

He grabbed my hair and pulled my head back to look at him directly in the face. "Liar!" he screamed. "I don't tolerate liars in this house!" He stepped even closer. "You know the rule, Malfoy. If you want food, you're going to have to work for it."

"Yes, sir." I eyed his arm, hoping somehow that maybe he'd loosen his grip on me. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I won't do it again."

He grinned and chuckled. "I understand people make mistakes, Malfoy. These are just one of those moments..." I couldn't look at him in the eye. I knew they'd glare hatefully down at me. "Why don't you try making up for it tonight? I know how you love doing this..." I tried to hold my tears in as I nodded, knowing that I knew that he wanted me to.

As he lead me down the dark hallway, the hall somehow got even longer. There was no end. The more steps I took, the more I realized that they were steps to death. I was alone.

_Alone...I was alone..._

"Draco! Draco, wake up!"

I bolt up in my bed, breathing loudly. "What?" I raise my fist and rubbed my eyes slowly. When I look up, I see Theodore and Blaise smiling down at me. I frown at them. "Was I sleeping this entire time?"

Blaise nodded. "Looked like you had a nightmare or something. Okay there?"

I nod, then shake my head. "Yeah, uh, what are you doing?" My eyes travel to Theodore as he goes to my closet and swings it open.

"Classes are about to start. We were going to wake you earlier, but we decided to give you a little more time to sleep."

I purse my lips. Gee, thanks, friends. I totally loved having more time to relive my past.

Blaise stretches his arms in the air, yawning. "It sucks living in the dungeons beneath the lake, doesn't it? I'm still not used to waking up to the darkness." He pops a lemon drop into his mouth, munching on it.

_Darkness...the dark hallway...I was alone..._

I jump out of bed and stretch my legs. "I'm up," I say. "Blaise, could you get out my school robes?" I ask. Blaise nods, still chewing. "I change my mind. Theodore, would you?"

Blaise irks a smirk at me.

"What? I don't want candy all over my gorgeous robes!" I say, running to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

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I sit down at a desk, next to Pansy and Goyle. "Look, I don't care about what you say, Pansy," I tell her. "Complain all you want, but pugs are still a species of dogs that still exist." I smirk at her. "They're real."

She crinkles her nose at me. "Whatever. If they exist, I'm sure they're very beautiful. Like me."

"_Silence_," Professor Severus Snape drawls, while walking into the room. He points his wand at the door, instantly slamming it. "You've all had to learn about Libatius Borage last week. Since you've _finished _reading_–_" he enunciates, glaring mostly at the Gryffindors "–_Advanced Potions-Making_ by said author, you're going to have to make a potion today. It'd be a pity if you didn't read it because most of what was in one chaptor of the book is what we're doing today." He clears his throat. "You're making a philter, designed to cause weariness and fatigue in the drinker. You have the period to finish it." The groans of everyone pierces the room. I sigh. Professor Snape stands up and strolls up to the front of the room. "I've already assigned partners for you. Surely you should be thanking me because I was so kind to do so, seeing as I know there are slackers here." He snaps his head at Scarhead, who was "quietly" discussing with the Weasle.

Professor Snape saunters towards them and pulls them apart by their hair. "Potter, Weasley...How unfortunate to be caught chatting." He glares, continuing, "If I find you two disrupting my class one more time when _I'm_ talking, you both will get detention."

The Weasle's jaw drops. "But we're only talking! How's that enough to get detentions? You always get mad at us!" Quietly, the Weasle mutters, "Obviously you're discriminating us against our house."

"Ten points from Gryffindor for impeaching a teacher," Professor Snape announces loudly. "Weasley, you're working by yourself today. Potter – go work with Malfoy."

My eyes widen. What? He must be insane to assign _Potter_ with me. For God's sake, Potter smells bad! Or at least he did back then! I glance at Pansy, who sympathetically smiles at me. I shake my head at her. When everyone's been assigned partners and the potions-making has officially started, Potter and I didn't move. Finally, I let out a loud gasp and say, "Potter! Come over here! You don't expect us to just sit apart from each other all class doing nothing, do you?"

He sighs and walks over. If I had been some other girl, most likely a Hufflepoof – oops, I mean Hufflepuff – I would've noticed how he actually took his time to comb his hair today. Not that it actually made much of a difference. If I had been a girl, I also would've noticed how the shoes with the green laces really brought out his eyes, and how his fleece uniform sweater really showed off his lean muscles. _If_ I were a girl...which I'm not. Since I'm a guy, obviously, I'm not thinking these things.

Scarhead smiles, probably noticing that I was staring at him. I mean, glaring at him. "So, you know what a philter is, don't you?"

I roll my eyes. "Potter, just because I didn't go to school for a few years doesn't mean I'm stupid, _like Weasel_," I cough quietly. "A philtor is a potion made to charm or enchant the drinker. I did learn this when I was twelve."

He raises an eyebrow, grinning even wider. "I always knew you were smart, but I didn't know that your family actually took the time to teach you independently. I don't remember Snape teaching us back during second year." He pulls over a chair and sits next to me. He looks down at the required instructions. "So...We need mallowsweet, goosegrass, some snakeweed..."

"You don't even know what you're talking about, Potter," I affirm, grabbing the instructions from him, "so don't even _try_ to act smart. Because we all know you're not." Skimming the paper, I say, "Why don't you get the ingredients and I'll chop them up?"

He shrugs and goes off. When I see that he's at the massive shelves of ingredients, I snake off my chair and grab Pansy. "Did someone charm me or something?"

She looks at me quizzically. "I hope not. Do you feel weird or something?"

I purse. "Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit...weird..."

Pansy nods, and turns to her partner, Lisa Turpin. "I've got to go speak to Draco for a second. While I'm gone, why don't you go hug books or do whatever it is that you Ravenclaws do?" Before giving Turpin a chance to speak, Pansy quickly goes back to me. "Where do you feel odd, Draco? This could be important?"

I shrug. "I don't know...It's not _where_, it's just that my mind keeps making gestures at a person."

"What kind of gestures?"

"Like...float-in-the-air...feeling," I reply pitifully.

She pauses. "This might be called attraction, Draco." She grins at me. "Ooh, you haven't even been here for two days yet and you've already got a crush. Who is she?"

I jab her on the shoulder. "It's not a crush, Pansy! Don't be ridiculous!"

Hearing footsteps, I turn around. It was Potter, waving his hand in the air. "Malfoy, I've got the ingredients."

I glare at him. "_Potter_. Unlike you, I can see. Don't interrupt Pansy and I. We're in a middle of a life-or-death conversation!"

Potter returns the glare. For the first time in years, he's actually..._glaring _at me. "Malfoy, we're supposed to do this – _together_. Why can't you two talk sometime else? I'm not going to do all of the work here!"

"Fat chance that I'd let you destroy my potion," I snap, strolling to him. "Are you even sure that you got the right ingredients? Did you even double-check?"

"Malfoy, I'm not an idiot."

"Don't even get me started on that debate," I say. Grabbing the ingredients, I start to chop it up neatly. For the next twenty-five minutes, Potter and I didn't speak at all. It wasn't an awkward feeling at all, surprisingly. We mostly just prepared our ingredients and tossed them into the cauldron. "Potter, you're splashing me. And don't give me that I-didn't-do-it-on-purpose crap."

"Malfoy, did you just say a bad word?" Potter smirks, amused.

I glare at him. "What do you mean?"

"Crap. You said crap."

"So? As far as I know from the previous years I've been here, you cursed all the time. You're saying 'crap' too, or are you both blind and deaf now?"

He chuckles. "No, it's just that I never heard you curse before. Not back in first, second, _or_ third year." He looks over his shoulder. "How come everyone else's potion looks different than ours?" Following his gaze, I notice that everyone else's potions had a murky, purple-ish colour while ours is green. "'Mione's is purple. I don't give a damn about anyone else's, but if she's got it, then it must be right."

"Patience, Potter," I say. "I actually have faith in this potion, since it's mine after all. In fact, I'm going to test it right now."

"Ours," he mutters. Suddenly, he touches my hair. As much as I don't want to admit it, my heart stops beating for about two seconds before I realize what he's doing. "You've got a piece of leaf on your hair," he says softly. "What were you doing, smashing silverweed on year head or something?" he jokes.

I return to reality and hit his arm away. "_No_, I wasn't, and I'd appreciate if you'd stop assulting me. I know I'm acceptionally doing well in the looks department, but–"

"Assulting you?" he interrupts. "I'm not assulting you!"

"Potter, Malfoy, if you don't stop arguing, I'm going to have to take points off," a low, grim voice declares. I turn around and see Professor Snape ambling towards us. He blinks at our cauldron. "Now what do we have here? A green potion?" He looks down at us. "Tsk, tsk, tsk..." He picks a piece of shrub up. "Looks like you've used the wrong material. I never said to use baneberry. Were you planning on murdering someone? Obviously baneberries are extremely toxic and can kill a person who drinks it."

I glance at Potter, absolutely fuming. "Potter, didn't I tell you to double-check the ingredients? Were you trying to assassinate me? I was about to drink it!"

"You can't blame me," Potter argues back with rage. Why is _he_ getting mad? It was _my_ life at risk, not his! "Baneberries look a lot like all the other flowers!"

I throw my hands out in the air, exaggerrated. "_This_ is why you need new glasses, Potter."

"_ENOUGH_!" Professor Snape snaps. "Since you two obviously can't work together, why don't you stay back for a bit to clean up the cauldrons? _Seperately_?" Professor Snape turns on his heels and continues to patrol the potions.

I glare at Potter angrily, but he doesn't see me. Instead, he has his back turned from me and was already walking away, probably to go annoy Thomas or someone in his House. "Hey, I wasn't done talking to you," I say, chasing after Potter. I was about to jab Potter in the back before he completely turns around. Without a warning, I run into his chest. I grimace, realizing how stupid I looked and how..._solid_ and hard his chest was, even with a sweater over him!

"What is it?" Potter asks softly. When I look up, I see he's staring down straight at me, looking so...I don't know..._nice_. Like he actually _cares_.

"Ehm...I just wanted to say that it's your fault that I have to stay after class."

"Really? Is that it?" Potter rakes his hand through his unkempt hair.

I hesitate. "Yeah."

"Okay, then." He nods at me. "I'll see you when detention starts."

"Right."

Turning around, he goes to Thomas and Finch-Fletchy and chats with them. I roll my eyes. Who cares about what Potter does? I turn around and sit at my desk, doodling on a piece of paper. For the rest of class, I talk to Blaise and Crabbe, whom astoundingly actually finished early. Of course, Crabbe's partner was the Beaver girl, so that was to be expected. I sigh quietly, noticing how Potter didn't even turn to look at me. Not that I wanted him to, mind you. It's just that _everyone_ else should be paying attention to me.

"Are you okay?" Blaise asks.

I nod. "Yeah. I just hate Potter."

Blaise pats my shoulder. "We all feel the same way about that bastard."

I frown, looking at the time. In exactly three minutes, this class will end, and detention alone with Potter will start. Could life get any worse than it already has?

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**Thank you guys SO much! I really wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for you guys! Remember, please review! I'd like to get it up to at least 80 reviews before my next chapter!**

**I'm not trying to bribe anyone, but uh, if you review, I'll post your names down in the next chapter. How awesome is it to have our names up here? And unlike some other authors, I actually, like, TALK to you! Look down there and see how open I am with my fellow reviewers!**

So, has anyone heard the AWFUL news? Ever heard of the Mermaid Girl? She's this poor kid who was born with conjoined legs in Maine, USA. I mean, you MUST'VE remembered her from TLC! So anyways, I was just minding my own business, watching TV at midnight with my twin sister, and while we were flipping through the channels, we stopped on one channel and guess what?! The Mermaid Girl died just last Friday and she was only TEN years old! Isn't that sad? I mean, to be honest, I used to joke about that girl, but now that I heard that she died, I'm really just SO sad, beyond words! Like, just four years ago, I remember seeing her on TV for the first time.

Anyhow. It's ridiculous that Trick-or-Treating day was moved from the ACTUAL date (the 31st) to Friday, the 30th. Does that make sense? Has anyone actually gone trick-or-treating on a different date than the actual? This happened last year too! To be honest, I've got friends from other cities who went trick-or-treating at MY city (on the 30th) AND at their own, the next day! So it's like they went trick-or-treating TWICE in one year!

I love how I have Latin class because we learned that _expecto _means "to await" _inpedimentum _means "to help." Is it just me, or does that sound a lot like Harry Potter spells to you?Exams are coming up next week! It's awful, because for the SECOND time this quarter, I forgot to do my science homework. Like, if I'd KNOWN that I had homework, I would've done it for sure, but it totally slipped my mind, and I got another zero. :( This is the second time, and in my science class, it's either "pass things on time, or you get a zero." Meaning, I can't pass it in late!

It sucks for sure.

**Anyways, I have to clarify that I'm uber excited, because my reviews have hit the 2-digit number! Like, give me props for that, guys! C'mon!**

**GIVING THANKS TO MY REVIEWERS (AND READERS IN GENERAL):**

**Christine: Thank you SO much for your awesome comment! Even though I mentioned something quite like this in the other chapter, I have a cousin named Christine! I'm not even joking! Like, I know I said I had a cousin named Teresa, but as crazy as it sounds, I have a cousin named Christine too! Christine is actually my closest cousin's older sister, meaning yes, she lives in my city. In fact, Christine lives right around the corner of my house. Now that I think of it, my grandparents live in my neighborhood too...and so does my aunt. Oh my god, I just realized that I have so many relatives in my neighborhood that it's sketchy. Anyhow, Teresa's younger than me - she's, like, in the fourth or fifth grade or something like that. My cousin Christine, though, is older! She's in grad-school, maybe 26 or 25 years old.**

**xo i love emmett xo: I'm totally into the fact that I have at least one person who reviews, like, almost every time I update. That's really cool! BTW, since it seems like you're really into Twilight because of the name "Emmett" (I'm assuming, thank you very much), I just want to remind you (since you probably already know) that the sequal to Twilight is coming out...Err around January or February of 2010! Wow, even though the year isn't even over yet, time's flying SO fast!**

**MDarKspIrIt: It's a joy every time for me to type your name in. It literally takes five minutes for me to go from screen to screen to remember which letters of your name is capatilized and whatnot. See, I'm not the kind of person who likes to copy and paste things in. Anyhow, I do hope so myself that Draco and Harry will hook up very soon. Even though I'm the author of this, I like to point out that fact to, seeing as I'm totally deadpanned about what to write next!**

**jnhpkins: Wow. Your name is...uber cool. I couldn't help but wonder if this name has anything to do with John Hopkins school, though...any clarifications? Thanks for all of your support!**

**lemonjune: Thanks! You all are amazing too! You're only lucky that I'm in a good mood this week to write so much longer than I'm used to!**

**mintjoy: I really like your name, because I'm obviously a joyful person, and I LOVE mint! Especially the ice cream flavour! Like, have you ever heard of Skinny Mint ice cream? I'd know all the ice cream flavors because they're my favorite desserts.**

**almondluv: Thank you!**

**staffire: It's nice how you were so thoughtful in your review as to put all of the components I've put in here. :)**

**flowerslily: It's so awesome that you watch Dancing with the Stars too! Weren't you mortified that Louie Vito got eliminated? I mean, really? I like Michael Irvin too but, you know, it's LOUIE VITO! He did an awesome dance at the dance-off. Whatever. At least he's back to doing the thing he loves! (Snowboarding!)**

**pbforever: Hello, there! Thank you for commenting!**

**summerluvgirl: I'm mentioning your name now, aren't I?**

**: Again, I'm addicted to candy! I love Junior Mints! It's nearly Halloweenie!**

**hotcookie: I love cookies. I ultra-love cookies when they're hot. That's all that I've got to say...**

**MiseryluvsDeath: Thanks for reviewing! Remember, people who review are super cool in my eyes! Anyhow, I didn't even realize about what you meant about Draco's mum recognizing him until I looked over and reread it. Ehm...Let's just say that...Well, I suppose that he could've looked the same? 0_o Sorry, I was so out of it when I was typing. It was, like, midnight. I'll try to clarify things more clearly! :) Oh, by the way, if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to press that little button thingy on the bottom-left (or right?) to ask me!**

**MiseryluvsDead: I looked over your comment and it finally just hit me that last year WAS Halloween! My mistake!**

**fikus: I really, really, really like your name. The other day, my teacher actually talked about having a pet fikus throughout his entire college years, including grad school!**

**missmiley1014: Big fan of Miley Cyrus? Anyhow, thanks for comment!**

**jennyc: Thanks! Good job for you too!**

**Kacey: I love ice cream too! Most ESPECIALLY the peanut butter flavoured ones! I LOVE peanut butter! They're actually my favorite flavours of all time! If I need to go out to buy an oatmal bar, I always get the peanut butter ones.**

**The Darkest wizard: Thanks for commenting! About the "Wilkes training Draco" part, hmm...That wasn't what I had in mind, but you'll just have to see! Sorry for the torture. I know I always got extremely frustrated when my favorite author takes about a decade until he/she updates another chapter. Anyhow, I did mention down here (if I knew how to insert an arrow in here, I'd do it, but since I don't, I can't) that I'm probably the worst romance writer in the history of writing so if you have any ideas about how Draco and Harry get together, don't hesitate to tell me!**

**Amelian: Thanks, Amelian! Obviously, this chapter proves that I'm still writing! :)**

It would be so helpful if you guys left comments about what you want me to write next. A lot of times, I get clueless about what I should write about, so help me out, guys! Since I'm such a bad romance writer, you can, like, leave me a little note about how YOU'D like Draco and Harry to get together or how they'd have their first kiss! Thanks!

**Again, please review guys! I'd like to thank all of my readers and reviewers SO much! And please do pray for me to get all A's this quarter. I'd like to beat my sister in grades at least this once!**


	6. Flying

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters in this book!**

**Pairings: HP/DM duh!**

**Note to readers: this is set from one of the books that I've read. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

While everyone goes rushing out the door, I sit on top of my desk, glaring at Professor Snape. Honestly, how can a silly argument lead to a detention? Really? If I could have it my way, I'd throw both Potter and Professor Snape over a cliff. But since that is obviously improbable to do in this time and period, I would just have to suffice. I glance at Potter really quickly. He was snapping on gum like nothing was going on in the world.

"Potter, Malfoy, over here," Professor Snape snaps. His hair was as greasy as ever and he looked like he'd been sweating a lot. Why does it look as though he'd just been forced to carry a giant boulder up a mountain when all he had done was watch us? "The next class won't start for another thirty minutes. When I come back, I expect this place to be spotless. Understood?" His eyes lingered on Potter for a bit longer, as though he was suspicious of what he might do. I wouldn't hold it against Professor Snape, by all means, though.

As Professor Snape left the room, his hideous shoes made strange squeaking noises. It finally dawned on me that it was just Potter and me, alone in a dark classroom. How unlucky could things get for me? "Look, Potter," I say, flicking up my wand. With it, I mumble a quiet spell, and soon enough, a painted bold line was drawn all across the floor, separating the room into two. "_This_ half is yours," I instruct, pointing at his part.

"That's not fair," he argues. "Your half is smaller!"

I stare at him. "You're kidding, right? They're both the same!"

He shakes his head, his short, wild hair moving slightly. "How about this – we'll just clean whatever's messy. For once, why don't we just work together?"

"We worked with each other not less than ten minutes ago on that silly potion, did we not?"

"I meant civilly," Potter says like I'm the stupidest person in the world.

How could I work with Potter civilly? I'd have to admit that we worked well together during the beginning of the potion-making, but for the next thirty minutes, the last thing I'd want to do is socialize with my most hated Gryffindor while _cleaning_. I take a look at him closer. He seems genuine about his offer, like he actually means it. But honestly, why has he been so respectful and courteous to me (for the most part, anyway) when just three years ago, he'd like nothing more than to punch my sockets out?

"Fine," I say haughtily, though it might've been too late because Potter's looking at me like he has no idea what I'm talking about. "I meant _fine_, I _will_ try to have a civilized half-hour moment with you, Potter."

He nods with a small smile. "Good." Was that it? Just _good_? I spent sixty seconds having an internal battle just to hear a single-worded _good_?

Wow, I've never noticed how white his teeth are. Did he use those obviously-fake-but-fascinating teeth whiteners that I've seen on a Muggle ad?

_I made a small groan as I leaned back against the couch. Hugging my legs, I peered up to see a newspaper sitting peacefully on the coffee table. "_The Daily Telegraph_," I read. I frowned. Isn't that a Muggle newspaper? It's ought to be, because I've never seen women wearing such hideous, revealing coconut shells over their boobs…Hold on, these aren't coconut shells. They look like they're made of fabric! But, what could that be? And why are they prancing around in their underwear? _

_The sound of a loud door banging shut awoken me from my thoughts. "Oh, Malfoy, I'm home!" a gruff, unfortunately familiar voice sang madly._

_I mentally slapped myself for whimpering as I pulled up the sheets over my head to await what was going to happen…_

"Did you use teeth whiteners?" I ask before I could stop myself.

Potter gives me a confused glance before laughing out loud. All of my blood rushes to my cheeks, but I couldn't help but smile as well, seeing his face gleaming brightly. "No, Malfoy, I'd hate to break it to you, but I've never used teeth whiteners." He leans in close – to close for my liking. I take one step back. "Maybe I've just got good hygiene."

"Potter, you're trespassing my personal space," I say quickly, knowing how secluded and dumb I sounded at that moment.

He frowns and steps back. "Sorry…" Looking at him scratch his head, I can't help but wonder why everyone's in love with him. Just because he was the only person ever to have survived the Dark Lord doesn't mean that he deserves all of the attention! I mean, he's called the fricken Boy who Lived – and I'm the boy who fricken hates the boy. I look upwards to see Potter pick up a red pail, abundant with water, and soaks a cloth in it.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Cleaning? What does it look like?"

"There's a little thing called magic," I say with a smirk, raising up my wand.

"_Malfoy_, I don't want to get in more trouble than I've already had!" he says, gripping my wrist.

"So what? We'll just finish up early and leave our separate ways," I force back, trying to free my arm of his nauseatingly strong hand. "I thought you didn't care if you'd get in trouble or not! You used to always sneak out with that Weasel and mudblood friend of yours!" Suddenly, before I could comprehend what was happening, Potter pushes my back vigorously onto the surrounding wall.

"Don't _ever_ call her that again," he growls.

I close my eyes for a few seconds before pushing him back. "Look, we're not going to get into an argument about this! I don't care about what you do, but _I'm_ going to clean this place up my way!"

He glares at me. "Fine."

I sneer at him and then say, "_Scourgify_." Just as I had finished the sentence, the mops and cloths were suddenly jolted to life. I turn on my heels and head out the door. "Malfoy!" Potter calls, jogging after me. "Where're you going?"

I turn to look at him. "I'm going to enjoy my break. Aren't you supposed to be in there, cleaning the room your way?"

If I'd look any closer, I would've noticed how his cheeks started to get the tiniest tint of red. I let out a diminutive smile. Obviously, I had had my way, once again. This is how Malfoy's do it, people. We stand behind what we say and that's how we get what we want! I peer at Potter to see his eyes lingering on the bottom half of my face. Was he looking at my lips?

"Potter, I'm up here," I say, snapping my fingers in front of his face.

He blushes again. "Ehm, we still have fifteen minutes left. D'you want to fly?"

I grimace. "Um…" If he hadn't looked so legitimate, I would've made a snippy comment about (once again) his dorky glasses, but…Oh my god, had his eyes just gotten greener in the last five seconds? "We would've have time," I say weakly.

"Scared, Malfoy?"

I glare at him. "No! Fine, have a go at it."

"Great," he says, grabbing my arm, running down the hall.

"Potter, _wait_!" I say, and before I knew it, I was squealing. Yes, kids. I was squealing.

When we get out onto the field, I finally realize that I didn't have a broom. At least, not here at Hogwarts. I stop on my spot. Potter raises an eyebrow. "Um, I don't…have flying safety pads," I finish pathetically.

Potter lets out a chuckle. "Since when did you need flying safety equipment."

"Look," I snap, "you could fall off the broom and die for all I care, but I'm not going to get onto my broom – _which is in my dorm room_ – without the vital things that I need!"

"Okay, Malfoy, chill…relax," he says with a smirk. He did _not_ just tell me to take a chill pill. He holds out his wand. "_Accio broom_," he says. Suddenly, I hear the sound of glass breaking. I look out behind me to see a broom flying (probably at a hundred miles per hour) out from a now-broken window way up from the summit part of the castle.

"Oh, look, even your broom doesn't have subsequent manners," I drawl, folding my arms in front of my chest. Geez, I knew I should've brought out an extra coat with me.

The broom swiftly hovers in front of Potter. He hops on with a gleam in his eyes. "Watch and learn, Malfoy."

I roll my eyes at the clichéd catchphrase. "I'm only watching you because I'm excited to see you fall to your death!" I call out. "Just so you know, I'm not freezing my butt off here for you!" I kick my shoes at the grass, getting some fresh mud onto moccasins. I mutter a nippy cleaning spell. Stretching my arms above me, I take in the scenery. Though most fliers would seem very peaceful and graceful on brooms (like yours truly), that would be the last thing that Potter is. Instead of calmness, he hyped determination, aggressiveness, and gung ho (funny word). Besides Potter acting like he was going to win the World Championship for Quickest Flying, the grass looked extremely healthy and vibrant, the trees far ahead had pretty autumn colors, and even the flowers near the castle haven't died yet! I presume that Professor Sprout must've enchanted the flowers to never die. I see a small chipmunk race past against me. I turn around to see it sprint away. Suddenly, it comes back and lands right in front of me.

I give it a confused look and kneel down. I roll my sleeves up over my hands and poke him. I wouldn't want to catch rabies or any other countless animal diseases. "Hey little buddy," I say softly. "Why haven't you hibernated yet?"

"Hey Malfoy!" I hear Potter holler from way up in the sky.

I look up and cover my eyes with my hands from the sky. Though it was definitely not a sunny day, the sky still had a different kind of intensity to it. "What, Potter?"

Before I knew it, Potter was right in front of me, breathing loudly. How much does it take for a guy to burn calories when all he does is sit on his broom while it does all the work? He stretches his arm out and locks it around my waist.

I start to feel dizzy at contact. "Potter, what are you doing?"

"Hop on, Malfoy."

"I _told_ you that I'm not going to go on brooms without equipment!"

He gives me a knowing smile. "I won't let you fall. It's a promise. Besides, I couldn't just let you stay down here talking to chipmunks while I'm flying. I want to at least try to keep you sane before this school year ends."

I frown at him, before reluctantly going on. As soon as I feel the broom start to go higher, I quickly plant my arms around him, burying my face into his back. "Potter, if you drop me, I will stab you with a pitchfork in places you've never known you had."

I feel his heartbeat quicken when he lets out a chuckle. "Don't worry. I'm not about to risk my life to let that chance happen."

"Good," I say.

"_Except_ for this part," Potter says, looking over his shoulder to smirk at me. "Hold on tight, Malfoy. This may get exciting," he warns and before I could register how strikingly attractive he looked when he smirked, I feel my breath get knocked out of me when the broom lurches forward. I grab on even tighter, trying to close my mouth. Finally, I let it hang open while I scream bloody murder for my life.

I look ahead and see Potter aiming at a tree. "_Potter, what are you do—_" The broom jolts left and I feel my body swing over to my right. I'd be surprised if Potter didn't suffocate to death by my arms. Finally, Potter slows down, and glides to the ground.

I let out a breath, thanking Salazar that I'd survived. "I can't believe that you'd just done that," I say, leaping off of the homicidal broom.

Potter grins at me. "Sorry. I didn't think that you'd take it so seriously."

I glare at him. "I'm _not_ taking it seriously. It's just that my life was on the line due to whatever goes on inside that little peanut-sized brain of yours." My vision is literally swirling about around me. I try to not to slip on the grass as I walk towards the castle.

Potter catches up to me, with his broom hovering closely behind his tail. "I think we might be late."

"State the obvious, why don't you?"

He grins at me boyishly. "Look, I know we've had our differences in the past, but what happened just now was bloody brilliant, you'd have to admit." He pauses and I stop to look at him. Oh my god, is this going to be it? Is he going to declare his undefined love for me since he's seen me not less than two days ago? What can I say – I'm alluring. "Do you mind going out for another fly tomorrow? Or maybe to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

I let out a fake surprised gasp. "Why I'm so flattered! But I've already got plans. Sorry," I say with a smirk.

He shrugs. "Okay then." He heads toward the entranceway of Hogwarts. Is that just it? _Okay then_?

"But I might be able to squeeze you in," I holler hotly.

Potter turns around and chuckles. "You have no idea about what you're saying, do you?"

I frown at him. "What do you mean?"

He shakes his head. "Come on, Malfoy. Get a move on, now!" I quickly run up to him and we walk the rest of the way into Hogwarts before going about our different ways to our classes.

"I can't believe it," Pansy says in wonder. "Potter _actually_ asked you out?"

I shrug snootily. "I wouldn't say he asked me out…"

"Are you kidding? He definitely asked you out," Pansy argues. "That was a full-on ask-out moment." She probably had no idea about how dumb we sounded, but I suppose that these are just one of those weird moments you share with friends. Pansy closes her Arithmancy book while I perch my feet on top of her lap. We were laying on the couch in the Slytherin Common Room while just about everyone else was doing their homework.

She charms her mug of water into hot pumpkin juice and takes a sip out of it. "When are you two planning the date?"

I shrug. "Whenever we can fit the schedule in. But I wasn't kidding when I said I was busy. We've already been holding off the Hogsmeade trip for two weeks now! I was actually going to tell you about the get-together after it happened, but obviously it's not going to happen anytime soon." I groan and bury my face into a silky massive and poufy pillow. "I need to catch up in every class. Midterms are almost here!"

Pansy slyly grabs the pillow from me and sings, "And so is Halloween!" She whacks me with the pillow. "There's a Halloween Festival on Halloween day. There's going to be food, drinks, costumes, and lots of music and dancing going on. Maybe Potter could take you there. If he doesn't…" she says, "Blaise and I will take you instead."

I glare at her.

Suddenly, a female plops in between Pansy and me. I quickly move my legs out of the way to avoid them getting smooshed (though she wasn't anything overweight by all means). It was Daphne Greengrass, a student in my year, whom I've been talking to quite a lot recently when everyone else was busy. But being a typical Slytherin that she is, of course, Daphne doesn't do much anyway.

Pansy smiles at her sweetly.

"What were you two talking about?" Daphne asks, nudging me in the gut.

"About the Halloween Festival – duh," Pansy says like it was the most obvious topic to any teenager living under roof of Hogwarts. "You are going with us, right?"

Daphne nods with a giggle. "Of course. I'm not going to miss out on the annual hexing that we do at every festival! Though, I must add, that Terence Higgs and I might drop out to go our own way."

Pansy grins. "Ooooh, you and Terence…Who would've known?"

Daphne smiles at me. "Draco, you've _got_ to try the Fizzing Whizzbee candies. They've got new special edition flavours that will knock your socks off."

I laugh. "As long as they're not cherry-flavoured, I'm fine," I clarify.

Suddenly, Harper comes up towards us. He's the reserve seeker of the Slytherin Quidditch team. "Malfoy, Professor Dumbledore wants to have a word with you."

Pansy and I exchange a quick confused glance before I stand up and follow Harper to Professor Dumbledore's office. I quickly realize, though, that I didn't have to use a password at all because Professor Dumbledore was already waiting outside his office with Tonks next to him. "Draco, dear boy, how are you?"

I frown at him. "I'm well."

"Good, good…" He pats me on the shoulder while dismissing Harper.

Tonks speaks up. "Draco, I just came here to know if you're ready to talk…" I stare at her. "About what happened…"

I frown again. "I'm sorry, Tonks, but I can't say anything. At least not now."

She nods. "I understand." She pulls me aside and winks. "I got you a little gift too, but I didn't tell Moody otherwise he'd have a fit about how I'm treating you passively. It's just a little something that shows that I care." She digs her hand into the pocket of her coat and pulls out a bag of gummies. I laugh when I see them. "Who told you that I liked gummies?"

She winks at me as she hands it over. "Let's just say a little snake told me." Mentally, I thank Salazar for telling Blaise what kind of foods that I liked. How he knew how to contact Tonks was beyond me but Blaise is just a go-getter like that.

"Thank you," I say gratefully. Taking a piece, I throw it into my mouth and savour the sweet, tangy flavour of the citrusy gummies.

Tonks stands back, her face becoming serious again. "Just…let me know when you're ready, okay?"

I didn't say anything. Instead, I wait for her to leave before I start my own way down the corrider. When I turn to my right, I hear strange moaning noises. Dear god, is someone being murdered down there? I continue quickly to save the poor girl before I realize what was happening. I abruptly halt and drop the bag of gummies. It was Potter and the Weaslette, making out like there was no end to the world.

I quickly march past them before they notice me. They didn't. They were too absorbed in their own world. My cheeks are on fire and I finally realize that I'm crying as I walk down the stairs. I furiously brush them away, muttering every flaw to Potter.

His ugly donkey glasses.

His random lightning-bolt scar.

His stupid sense of style (which is currently a pair of baggy jeans and any random top that he could find that's closest to him).

His horrid, messy, unsightly, sexy, godly hair, his handsome pearly smile, his intense green eyes…

When I'm about to tell the Slytherin password, the door opens and Pansy walks out. She sees me and gasps. "Draco, what's wrong?"

I didn't say anything. Instead, I slump against the wall and frown. Pansy pats my back. "It's okay, Draco, it's going to be okay…"

* * *

So, how do you guys like it? It took quite a while. Anyhow, I've just finished exams and it was dreadful! In math and P.E., I did outstanding. My results in Honors Science - not so much. Latin, too, as I'm sure I just about failed that, or at least got a C! It's that bad!

Halloween was fun. I was going to be Snow White, but I freaked out at the last second because I couldn't find my headband, and so I threw on an apron and there you go: I was a chef. That's right, kids. I was a chef. The strangest thing was that a teenager started stalking me and my friends and it turned out to be some eighth grader whom I've never even spoken to before in like, five years. Sketchy, much? I actually bumped into someone I knew from school as well but it was fun because we ended up going trick-and-treating together! When we rang on a doorbell of a house that's three houses down from my own, the door opened to reveal my Honors Science teacher. Erm...awkward? Oh, by the way, his house – it was hideous. Like, there was a random huge air conditioner hanging out in the middle (that's right - middle) of his massive fricken windows. Like, his window was five feet in length! With a window that big, why would you stick an air conditioner at the center of it?

Anyhow, I got let off early from school yesterday because it was the last day of final exams.

* * *

**Listen, if you have any funny Halloween stories, I'd love to hear it so review ASAP! Also, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me!**

**TTYL!**


	7. Envying

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters in this book!**

**Pairings: HP/DM duh!**

**Note to readers: this is set from one of the books that I've read. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

What the heck? It's in the middle of October and it's still sunny out? Any day's fine, but today? No way! I can't believe that I'm stuck inside in the library, forced to write a stupid essay on stupid werewolves, a sort of exotic stupid species, kind of like that stupid teacher I had in my third year.

As I look outside, I see a lonely purple insect fly by and ram right into the window. I have the urge to stand up and pound the window to make it fly away. "Relax, Draco, focus on this essay," I say quietly. Just as I was about to finish my first sentence, a group of loud students walk by me and knock into my chair. "Watch it, children!" I spit at them. "Are you blind? Could you not see my obviously existent body?" I see the scared Hufflepoofs – I mean Hufflepuffs – scatter away profusely. "_That's_ right –_ I_ went there!"

"Jeez, Malfoy, learn to live a little," an annoyingly familiar voice calls to me.

I turn my head to see the amused bright green eyes. "Potter," I say flatly, nodding at him. I stare down at my boring parchment, wondering why the heck the clock suddenly slowed down.

"What? That's it? No insults? Jokes about my hair?" Potter jokes.

"Potter, can't you see I'm sick of you being around me?" I ask, raising my voice. "I need to do my homework so leave me alone!" From the reflection in his eyes, I can see my own face, my own eyes, burning with distrust. For a moment, I thought I saw pain in his eyes, but it quickly perished and anger was replaced.

Potter throws his arms in the air. "Just a few days ago, we were okay with each other. Hell, we even had plans to go out to Hogsmeade together! If it's about me and Ginny snogging, I'm sorry for invading your space." He sighs. "Look, I don't know exactly how your mind works, but you need to make a decision and pick a side."

I glare at him. A part of me feels like I still resent him for lip-locking with the skanky Weaslette. Who the Salazar does she think she is? His _girlfriend_? Then again, a tiny little voice on the left side of my brain reminds me that Potter and I never dated and will never date. It's not like he actually meant that we were actually going out…on a _real_ date.

"Are you up for this weekend?" I ask quietly.

"Pardon?" he asks.

"Hogsmeade," I cough.

"What?"

"For bloody sake, I said would you like to go to Hogsmeade this weekend?" I cry out, frustrated, until I see the little spark in his eyes that makes my knees buckle every time.

"Meet me at Honeydukes at 16:00. On Saturday," he says with a grin.

If he looked closely, he would've seen my mouth curve up. Fortunately he didn't. He turned away as soon as he finished speaking. I wonder if that's a move that lots of people make on their romance "victims," not that I was a potential lover for Potter at all, mind you. I've seen some pretty pathetic attempts at winking and occasionally butt-groping and slapping by some of my fellow peers, but this was totally unpredictable.

I shake my hand and look down at my parchment only to find my name, the date, the teacher, and the words "Werewolves are stupid" on it.

**DRACO IS MY HERO DRACO IS MY HERO DRACO IS MY HERO**

"No bloody way!" Pansy shrieks. "Harry Potter. _The _Harry Potter that just cheated on you with that face-sucking Weaslette-bee."

Blaise rolls his eyes, leaning across the couch to grab several of my famous grape-jelly thumbprint cookies. "Pansy, if you hadn't noticed, Potter and Draco never went out. To be completely honest, I don't even see any signs of Potter being attracted to Draco…_that_ way."

I glare at him. "Sheesh, Blaise, I already knew all that; no need to be harsh. Someone woke up on the other side of the bed this morning." I grab the cookies from his hands. "And give me my cookies back."

We were currently cuddling (oops, wrong choice of words) – I mean, we were currently sitting sophisticatedly on one of the Slytherin Common Room couches. The couch right in front of the fireplace was our notorious hang-out spot. I pick out one of the fluff-balls from my cotton pajama pants. "So, should I wear black, or dark gray?"

Pansy looks at me incredulously. "What's the difference? They're both boring and simple. I think you should wear green." We both look at Blaise, who merely shrugs and says, "No comment."

**DRACO IS MY HERO DRACO IS MY HERO DRACO IS MY HERO**

I stand outside Honeydukes, glaring furiously through my almost-closed eyes at pedestrians who were walking by aimlessly. I pull my green earflap hat down and push up my scarf to cover my face as I bounce on my boots, trying to keep the cold away. How is it possible that just three days earlier, it just so happened to be the warmest day in the history of October? Being the narrow-minded person that I am, I'm only wearing a pair of black trousers and a simple long-sleeved white shirt with a coat over it. I peer down at my wristwatch. He was a minute and sixteen seconds late. I've already come to Honeydukes thirty minutes earlier (just for preparation), but this was getting ridiculous. "Stupid Potter. Stupid boorish and discourteous Gryffindors for making me wait so long."

"What was that?"

I whip around to see a smug Potter, dressed up in cozy, sleazy clothes. "Potter! You're late? Do you honestly think this is going to help you in the future? If you can't even make it on time for this date, how do you think you're going to manage out in the real world when you're looking for jobs?" I demand, hands on my hips as I literally scream my lungs off.

Potter chuckles. "First off, I can guarantee you that I will get a job in the auror department. Second, who ever said this was a date?"

I freeze instantly. "I never said this was a date."

"Yeah, you did. You just did."

"No, I didn't!" I argue. "Come on, Potter," I say quickly. "Don't waste my time outside because I'm freezing to death!"

We enter Honeydukes with a small _ding!_ The candy shop looks amazing. I've never been here for so long, so looking at all of the wonderful things just made my heart want to burst. I haven't even had sweets and lollies for a while now. Everything in the surroundings looked absolutely perfect for me, except for the little annoying kids running around, hollering as though they ruled the area.

"What's that?" I ask, pointing to a brownish (maybe chocolate?) ball hanging on display.

Potter grins. "Oh, they're called Fudge Flies. Would you like to try some?"

I scrunch my nose up. "No. That's vulgar."

Potter laughs. "You have an extraordinary tolerant taste," he says sarcastically. "How about this?" He holds up a slightly-bigger sized straw.

"What's so unique about that?"

He smirks and points it at me. Suddenly a massive discharge of creamy white chocolate squirts out of it and onto _me_!

"Potter!" I cry. "Stop it!" I lift my hands up to pathetically save myself from the thick cream. Before I knew it, I started laughing. Like, _really_ laughing out loud, in front of Potter!

A quirky-looking man squabbles swiftly up to us and takes out his wand. With a quick spell, he manages to stop the straw from spewing chocolate. I look at his nametag. AMBROSIUS FLUME. "Mr. Potter, Mr…" He glances at me quickly and then shakes his head. I don't blame him for not knowing who I am. "What do you kids think you're doing? It's a sweets shop and there are kids around. You don't want them to get hurt. Understood?" He looks pointedly at Potter. "_Scourgify_," he mutters, and all of the chocolate on the floor disappears, as well as the chocolate on my clothes.

As soon as he goes away, Potter and I exchange a tiny grin and snicker. "Potter, I can't believe you just did that," I say, punching his shoulder lightly. "I don't think we should be here much longer. I don't want that old man watching our every move!"

Potter nods in agreement. "He's a kind man, though. Where to?"

Potter and I end up strolling around the streets of Hogsmeade, looking inside every shop that looked interesting through the windows and glass doors. I manage to even pick out some costumes for myself, to wear to the Halloween Festival. (Of course, I didn't do it in front of Potter! That would be too privileged!) When I pick out some decent clothes for Potter, he merely glared at me for resenting his choice of clothing.

"Potter, look at that," I say, pointing to a shop's display of items.

He stops walking and leans against a pole. "You mean that teddy bear?"

I roll my eyes at him. "Don't be immature. I'm talking about the thing next to it. The firebolt!"

"Oh…"

"Do you still have it?"

"Pardon?"

I repeat, "Do you still own a firebolt? Or did you wreck that too, like you did to your first broom in our third year?"

He glances around, as though he was uncomfortable with discussing the topic. "I still own it." He pauses. "Err…Did you ever fly when you were…you know…"

I cross my arms at him. "Potter, spit it out. What it is?"

"When you were gone for the past two years? Did you ever fly?"

I frown at him. "Erm…" I stand up straighter. "It's none of your business whether I flew or not."

He continues to gaze at me with concern. "Are you cold, Draco? Want a fresh cup of butterbeer?"

"Sure, why not?"

We make our way to the Three Broomsticks where we both ordered a hot mug of butterbeer.

"It's really tasty," I comment.

"It is." He grins at me and places his mug down. He watches as a waitress walks past us and winks flirtatiously at him. Her face makes me want to vomit. I "accidently" stick my foot out with a failed attempt to trip her. "Draco, have you got a girlfriend yet?"

I pause.

His eyebrows are knitted together tightly and he looks really interested. Maybe…too interested?

"Um, yes, I do," I say.

For a fraction of a moment, it seemed like his eyes just went dull. I shake my head. That's not possible. Potter couldn't be disappointed with my answer! He's got a girlfriend, for Salazar's sake!

"What's her name?" he presses, with a little irritation to his tone. "Does she even go to this school or did your mum set you up with her?"

I frown at him. "What's gotten in to you? My mum doesn't make every decision in my life. I should hope you knew this by now. Besides, her name's Habitha. You don't know her." I could've just stabbed myself on the spot with a fork. Habitha? That's just the most hideous name known to female kind! Of course Potter would suspect that this is all a hoax. No sane and rational parent would want to name a child Habitha. It's like an even worse version of "Tabitha."

"Habitha?" Potter repeats. "Will I get to meet this girl?"

"Why?" I ask. "Keep your crooked nose and those hideous nerdy glasses out of my life, Potter. How many times do I tell you this?"

He fumes, standing up. "Nothing's wrong with anything at all. You're allowed to date whoever you want. But just in case you wanted to know, I bet I do know this girl. I've seen a girl around named Habitha who's the slut of Ravenclaw."

"_Potter_," I retort. "Don't call her that! She's just a very needy person." There's actually a girl in Ravenclaw named Habitha? Who the heck raised her? A pair of goblins? And since when was Potter exposed to such indecent language?

The waitress from earlier came by again, this time with an uncertain gleam in her eyes. "Um…Is everything all right here? Do I need to escort you two out?"

"I can do it on my own, thank you very much," I snap at her, throwing a clad of sickles onto the table as I leave the tavern.

**DRACO IS MY HERO DRACO IS MY HERO DRACO IS MY HERO**

When I enter the Slytherin Common Room, I couldn't help but let out a huge cry of frustration. Potter must be bipolar because I don't know anyone who's as moody as him. _Please_…and people think that _I_ am moody? They've got to be joking!

"Oh, hey there, Draco," Theodore Nott says, as he walks by with a book in his hands. "'Heard you and a friend went out today, eh?" He winks at me playfully. "So, how'd it go?"

I look at him right in the eye and see if he backs down. He doesn't. "It was a pleasure," I drawl. I stand on my tip-toes so that I'm now an inch and a half taller than him. (We're about the same height when I'm not on my tip-toes.)

"What took you so long, anyway? Did you go to many places?"

I shake my head. "Yeah. Something like that." It wasn't completely a lie. Potter and I _did_ go to many places, but only for a brief time. When I spent my day with Potter, I felt really joyful, like I could be myself (for the most part) around him. I can't deny, though, that it took nearly an hour for me to go back to Hogwarts _all by myself_, and the whole time, I was contemplating on the "get-together." Potter is such a courteous kid, isn't he?

Suddenly, I hear a loud holler. It was very feminine and screechy. That's definitely got to be Pansy. "I hear Draco's voice! He's back!" Not more than a split second later, I see Blaise, Pansy, Millicent, and Daphne running down the curvy stone stairway towards me and Theodore. Pansy was literally taking three steps at a time down the stairs, and that's very impressive for someone as lazy as her!

Hold on. What's that package that Pansy's holding in her hand?

As soon as they got to me, Pansy waves the package in the air. "An owl flew and dropped a package and it's addressed to you!"

Blaise grins. "Well, open it up."

I take it slowly and tear the wrapping paper leisurely. Oh – my – god. It was a teddy bear! The same cheesy and tacky teddy bear that Potter and I saw at a store! Secured snugly between the bear's arms was a piece of parchment paper. I read it aloud: _Dear Draco, I'm sorry for overreacting back at the Three Broomsticks. I don't know what overcame me. I hope you like this. __Yours, Ha_ – I pause at the name and squeal.

"What? Who is it? Who is it?" Daphne, Millicent, and Pansy screech.

I've got to be honest – if it were just me, Blaise, and Pansy (and maybe Theodore), I might've actually spilled the beans, but with two gossip-obsessed girls and most of the Common Room eavesdropping on us, it's just undoable. The tension in the room was dreadful.

"Er…Habitha."

Theodore frowns at me. "_Who_?"

"Habitha." When the others weren't looking, I quickly casted a signal towards Blaise and Pansy to let them know that it was a lie.

"Um, guys," Pansy says, looking at the others. "Blaise, Draco, and I need to go practice our glares," she says quietly, tugging Blaise and me with her. Before I knew it, I was telling them everything about what happened at the Three Broomsticks.

For the rest of the night, at the Common Room, Pansy kept Blaise and me awake, pestering us with questions. Well, Blaise eventually fell asleep as soon as it hit twelve o'clock. I, unfortunately, was a light sleeper, and Pansy's motormouth and Blaise's obnoxious snoring kept me awake.

When it got to around four o'clock in the morning, Pansy ultimately fell asleep. I turn my back away from my two, resting friends and cuddle my teddy bear closer to my chest. The bear is the ugliest bear I've ever laid my eyes on. One of the buttons sewed to its stomach is hanging loosely and the black shiny eyes were too far apart. It kind of looks like a fish, in a peculiar way. Oh well. I guess some small things are just façade, concealing the true kind gesture of what this bear really holds. I consider naming the bear Adipatus, which means "fat" or "chubby" in Latin, but I think Pipsqueak will work out better. It has a cuteness to it. "Goodnight, Pipsqueak," I mumble.

"What was that?" Pansy grumbles in her sleep.

I snicker at her before closing my eyes, letting the darkness overcome me.

* * *

Hello, guys! It's been a long time since I've updated. It's sad, I know. But I do have reasons! I had final exams, um…a few months ago. Remember the science teacher/AKA neighbor? Well, I don't have him anymore, sadly. I actually got a pretty decent grade in his class. I thought I'd failed because I did so poorly on all of my tests, but I ended up getting a B+!

One of the new classes that I've had since the first quarter ended was Geography. Have you ever had any classes that just changed your entire life and output on things? (If you do, write a comment about it! I like to hear stories!) Well, Geography class is "that class" for me. I've learned so much about every continent (I was forced to memorize where every country is in the entire world. I accomplished!) and I feel like I just want to help every poor person out there!

Have you heard about the Haiti Earthquake? Isn't it sad? Apparently it's a 7.0 magnitude-ish level, and from what I've heard, that's pretty harsh.

So, yes, I know. My story is REALLY far back in time. I mean, hello? Halloween was ages ago! It was, like, four months ago. Still, that's where my story left off the last time I updated, so, yeah…

Have any good or funny Christmas stories, guys? I've got one from many years ago. I was around 9 years old, and I was opening presents with my family. My cousin had handed me a huge, nicely wrapped gift, and of course, my first instinct to seeing a huge box was that something very expensive and gorgeous would be inside. When I opened the box, there was a smaller box in it, and inside _that_ box, a smaller box was in it. It's confusing, but you get the idea. Finally, after literally opening six boxes within another, the last box held a tiny container. When I opened it up, it was a single photo of my cousin's family. I was like, "Thanks…Gee, I'll never forget your face now!"

The following year, I'd gotten her a stink bomb. It's one of those gooey, tiny things shaped as humans and when you squeeze them, a stinky blob comes out of its nose. That was great.

So…

**Reviewers!**

**KrazeeBaybee:** **Yes, it was completely embarrassing to end up ringing the doorbell of my science teacher on Treak-or-Treat night. Oh well, it was fun. :) BTW, I have sympathy for you. Maybe the next time that person comments on you about your Halloween costume, you could kick him in the shin. Oh my god, a fruit fly is attacking me! Sorry, that was random.**

**xo i love emmett xo: I completely understand your situation. At a wedding party, my shoes were too small for me so I had to walk around barefoot around the entire place. It made lots of people laugh, so don't worry! :)**

**risi: Thank you so much for fixing my mistake! I would've never caught it! I completely forgot about how the British people don't have Thanksgiving, so I changed it up a bit and switched it to Halloween. :) I hope you enjoy!**

**teddytonks12: The Weaslette is Ginny Weasley. Comprehendo? :)**

**ceara1888: Dude, you are my hero! Like, after months without writing, I completely forgot about this story, until I got an alert a few days ago telling me that someone had reviewed (that "someone" was you!). So here I am, updating a new chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

**fifespice: oooh...you'll just have to wait and read!**

**staffire: that's right. draco doesn't have a broom!**

**mintjoy: OMG I hate cliffhangers too!**

**Oh my god. I need to take a shower. It's driving me insane.**

**Review + Read + Rawr!**

* * *

**Save the Haitians!**

**$10 per family may seem very little, but it adds up to a lot if you consider every single family in the country.**

**It's okay if you don't have the money to donate, but it's always a good thing to encourage others to!**

**The Haitians, prior to the Haiti Earthquake, already faces:**

1. Kidnap

2. Slavery of children

3. 80% of adults in Haiti are out of jobs.

**Haiti, once the wealthiest country in the Caribbean, is now the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and they need YOUR help to save them!**

:)


	8. Agreeing

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters in this book!**

**Pairings: HP/DM duh!**

**Note to readers: this is set from one of the books that I've read. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

"Any o' yeh know what this is?" Hagrid grumbles, holding up an abnormal creature. It was bluish-silver, with prickly spines on it, and it was nearly half the size of Hagrid's entire body!

Though it's a bit hazy and gloomy outside, the fat used-to-be groundskeeper wanted to bring us outside to show us more ugly creatures. It's gross. Now my shoes are all wet and spongy from the damp grass and puddles in the ground. Hagrid also somehow managed to force us to stand in front of the foulest part of the lake. On the other side of the lake was pure blue and clear. This region, however, was a murky shade of Potter's hair. Wait – I didn't mean to say _Potter's_ hair, mind you. I actually meant to say Blaise's hair (not Potter's)!

The bushy-haired Beaver raises her hand exasperatingly, as though it was a life-or-death situation. As if! At least it's a predictable thing for the Beaver to do. The day she stops being an overachiever is also the day when she suddenly looks pretty…Like that's going to happen!

"Yeh, 'Ermione?" Hagrid grumbles. If I wasn't familiar with Hagrid's ancient voice, I would've never known that it was him talking. I could barely see his mouth moving, due to all of that monstrous nest that he calls "facial hair."

The Beaver smiles when she was acknowledged. "That is a freshwater fish called a shrake. The shrakes were first created in the 1800's when the creators of the shrakes were insulted by Muggles. The shrakes' obligatory is to damage Muggles' fishnets," she says like a know-it-all.

The giant chuckles barbarically. "That's right."

I roll eyes when I see the Beaver throw her chin up in satisfaction. "Oh, _please_, Granger. Don't overstate the situation. You're making a fool of yourself," I say pompously. "I bet you couldn't even make it three hours without raising you hand up in every class."

The Beaver's nostrils flare, but she doesn't say anything. Instead, the Weasel-bee steps up for her. "Malfoy, keep those flappers of yours damned shut. I see you haven't changed since you disappeared. You're only jealous that she's smarter than you," he barks.

Pansy's mouth drops open and, being the loyal and vicious friend that she is, she retorts, "Granger? Smarter than Draco? Don't even kid with yourself. As if any Muggle could be more intelligent than pure-bloods." I know for a fact that if the professor weren't there, she would've called the Beaver a mudblood instead of Muggle.

Soon enough, curious glances and whispers extended among the students, and they began a circle around us. Hagrid steps in though, yelling at us to break up the quarrel.

Potter grabs hold of the Weasel's arm and mutters, "Ron, that's enough. They're just words; don't let them get to you."

The Beaver nods in her agreement, her nostrils still flaring though. "Ronald, stop it. He's not worth the fight." Before long, the Weasel backs away.

"Um…Okay, so, let's move on," Hagrid says pathetically, leading us to another environmental area.

**SAVE THE HAITIANS SAVE THE HAITIANS SAVE THE HAITIANS**

"I can't _believe_ that Weasel!" I mutter angrily. "All I said were a few words…I didn't even threaten the Beaver! And then the Weasel, being the poor, uncivilized barbarian that he is, swore at me and told me to shut up! _No one_ tells a Malfoy to shut up." I jam my fork into my salad, making a clinking noise when the fork touched the silver dish. "He even brought up…_the past_."

Blaise gives me a shrug. "They're only mad because it's true. I bet all of my stepfather's galleons that you're smarter than Granger." He attempts to steal a pastry off of Millicent's dish, earning a slap in the hand.

Pansy shakes her head at him apologetically. "Blaise, dear, close your mouth when you're chewing. It's vulgar!"

As they speak, I rearrange my salad so that the olives were the eyes, the carrot was the nose, and a slice of lemon was the mouth. I took a few toothpicks and shove the toothpicks in each olive. "Die, Weasel, die!"

Pansy gives me one of her "what the heck are you doing?" looks. "Oh look!" Pansy shrieks suddenly, pointing up. "The owls are here!" Hundreds of owls, all of different sizes and colours, came swooping in to each table. I notice a strangely small owl collide into the Weasel's head. Serves him right! "Draco, isn't that your owl?" Pansy asks, tugging my sleeve.

I look up to see Aeneas, the Malfoy Eagle, come flying in. He settles right next to my plate with an envelope in his beak. I take it slowly, patting his head. "Good boy, Aeneas." The envelope was addressed from my mum. I open it up.

_Dear Draco,_

_How are you, love? I hope you're fully welcomed at Hogwarts! Do tell me if anyone is hurting you, dear. I'll have your father send in a bodyguard for you. Speaking of your father, he's been awfully moody lately. Though he doesn't express it, I can tell he misses you! Now isn't that a start of a blooming father-son relationship?_

_I went shopping a few weeks ago and bought you some new clothes. I heard about the Halloween Festival. Just in case you haven't already gotten a costume, I've already bought some for you. How do you feel about a bunny costume? Or maybe a snake costume? Your father likes the snake costume better. He says the bunny one is too feminine. Make sure you give him a scolding, will you?_

_By the way, love, a man named Wilkes has been visiting us a lot. He's your father's business mate. Wilkes wants to meet you in a few weeks. He's heard a lot of praise about you, so be sure to come home dressing appropriately with a good attitude._

_With love,_

_Mother_

I let my fork slide out of my hands. I reread it over three more times before accepting the authenticity of this letter. Wilkes wants to meet me? The same man who had held me captive for so long, putting me through all of the misery that I faced?

"What's wrong, Draco?" Pansy asks worriedly. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Um, I'm a bit tired. I think I'll go head back to the dormitory," I say feebly, not taking my eyes off of the letter.

Blaise stands up as well. "I'll go with you, Draco."

I shake my head. "No, stay. Just finish eating. And don't even give me the 'I'm-not-hungry nonsense,' because we all know that you can spend days eating nonstop without feeling satisfied."

I can tell that they're really concerned for me, but I give them my best smile before heading up to the Common Room. On my bed, I looked over the letter again before closing my eyes.

**

* * *

**The silence dominated me as I looked around. I was sitting on the tiny bed, waiting…just waiting for the obvious predictions. I couldn't even let my arms touch the sheets. Instead, I had them folded across my chest. I didn't want the fowl bed sheets to touch me, to remind me of all the things that happened on the bed.

I heard a door slam closed and heavy footsteps coming towards my current room. Heavy grunting was growing louder. My door opened and a man, who could be mistaken as my father's slightly younger brother, stepped in with a sly smile. "It's almost Halloween, Malfoy," he clarified.

Really? Has the year only just passed by?

"I picked up a few costumes for you, ones that I'm sure you'll love," he whispered with an evil smirk.

A strangled cry came out of my mouth, before my tears escaped me once more.

"What was that?" he snarled, pointing to my eyes. "Are you crying?"

I shake my head slowly. "No, sir."

He smiled again, closing the door slowly behind him, before stepping closer.

**

* * *

**"Maybe I'll wait another minute or two. She's probably not even here."

"Blaise, don't be ridiculous. Just knock the fricken door!"

"No! If she is here, she'll give us detentions for disturbing her!"

"Then so be it. We're Slytherins, and if we get detentions, we will go to detention together with our noses held high. No go!" I push Blaise forward. Blaise had told me that he overheard the ugly Cho Chang girl discussing how Professor McGonagall was simply "divine" in weaving garments and attires. Blaise, being the ridiculous fool that he is, didn't even bother to try shopping for costumes. Instead, he boasted about how he would have Professor McGonagall make one for him. "Come on, Blaise, if you can talk the talk, why don't you show me how you walk the walk?"

Blaise glares at me. "Fine, Draco. Watch…and learn." He thumps on the door. "Professor McGonagall? Professor McGonagall!"

The door opens to reveal Professor McGonagall looking, err…more ancient than ever! Her graying hair was sticking messily out of her bun and her glasses were put on upside-down. Looks like someone was just woken up.

Blaise gives her his trademark smirk. "Professor, do you mind weaving me a costume?" He pauses, waiting for an answer.

Professor McGonagall blinks at him incredulously. "Pardon?"

Blaise nods, repeating, "Do you mind weaving me a costume?" He shrugs haughtily, patting the pocket of his robes. "Unfortunately, I've only brought a couple of galleons with me today. Could you settle with three-hundred and forty galleons?"

Professor McGonagall gives him a strict stare. "Mr. Zabini, how long have you been taking Transfiguration class?"

"Six years, ma'am." Oh my god. He is really scoring the game today.

"Six years, you say?" Professor McGonagall raises an eyebrow. "You've taken Transfiguration for six years and yet you still haven't learned to transfigure an item into a set of costumes? I suggest you stay after class tomorrow afternoon to learn. And Mr. Malfoy?" She looks at me.

I gulp, but then hide it with a pleasant smile. "Yes, Professor?"

"I suggest you make some new friends. Hurry along, now. And Mr. Zabini, pull up your trousers. This isn't Durmstrang where you can run off unsuitably." She shuts her door with a slam.

Blaise and I exchange a laugh. "She's definitely off her rocker," Blaise chuckles.

I shake my head. "I can't believe you actually did that. _You're _off your rocker."

"I told you I can, didn't I?"

Someone hollers, "Hey Draco!"

Potter? Does he follow me everywhere? I turn around to see Potter running up to me. What exactly does he need to talk about? I look at Blaise for backup, but he quickly mumbles, "I think it's my cue to leave. Have fun with Potter, Draco." Before I could stop him, Blaise quickly jets off and joins Theodore and Daphne's conversation.

I sigh and turn to Potter. "Potter, don't run in the corridor. I don't see any stampedes occurring, and I'm not going anywhere."

He smiles sheepishly. "It's a beautiful day out, isn't it?"

I raise an eyebrow. "It's raining."

He shrugs. "Well, I wanted to know if you'd like to join me in a walk."

"A walk?" I ask, puzzled.

"Yeah." He points out the window. "Have a walk outside."

"Were your ears blocked when I was speaking? I said it's raining out!" Sometimes I wondered exactly how old the _real_ Potter is. Is he actually a seven-year-old stuck inside a sixth year's body? "I'm not going to go walking around the castle when it's wet. I don't like the cold," I declare, crossing my arms.

He chuckles. "You really shouldn't pout like that."

"What?" I let my arms drop. I shake my head. "Never mind that. What's the logic in going outside at this hour?"

"Come on, it'll be fun," he says. "Hermione's studying and Ginny is staying after in Sinistra's Astronomy class. Ron didn't want to go because he was too busy trying to practice his moves." When I gave him a look, he just laughs. "Ron wants to ask Hermione out to the Festival. I've always seen it coming."

I roll my eyes. Even back in my third year, I've already seen signs of the Weasel-bee lusting after the Beaver. Only Weasley would actually think that Granger's pretty. "Fine, I'll go, but you better cast a warming spell and a barrier around me."

He nods. "Deal."

When we head it, it was pouring _hard_. It made me rethink my decision of spending my time alone with a lunatic. When the barrier and warming spell was cast around me, I step out into the open. "Merlin's beard! This is mad, Potter. Are you sure you haven't checked into St. Mungo's yet?"

He snickers. "Ha ha, very funny, Draco." We start walking towards the lake (Merlin knows why).

We share a moment of silence. I wonder why Potter asked me, out of everyone in the school, never mind his Gryffindor roommates, to go "walking" with him. Is there a need to go walking at this very moment? And why the heck did I actually agree to go with him? Okay, that was a stupid question. Everything that has to do with Potter makes my heart flutter and it's true, no matter how cheesy it sounds. I glance at him really quickly. Yeah, his nose is still crooked and his glasses are unfortunately still there. Crooked noses look pathetic on everyone else, but on Potter, it makes him look…better. The nose, I suppose, could make him look tougher and his glasses…Well, okay, there's no argument that those funky glasses still look misplaced on Potter's face. I gaze down at his hands. They look really rough and they're kind of big. It his scars on it too. I don't remember Potter's hands looking so…marred during our first three years at Hogwarts together. What could've possibly happened to Potter in the two years that I've been gone?

"They're from the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

"Excuse me?" I ask.

Potter repeats, "The scars. They're from the Tri-Wizard Tournament." After seeing my puzzled look, he explains, "It's a competition –"

"I know," I cut him off. "I know what a Tri-Wizard Tournament is. My father is in the ministry, remember?" I blink at him. "A Tri-Wizard Tournament took place here? At Hogwarts? _Really_?"

Potter grins. "Yeah. During my fourth year. It was pretty intense. I was put into the competition to compete."

My jaw drops. "In your _fourth_ year? That's illegal! You can't enter a competition unless you're seventeen. You were fourteen then, weren't you?"

Potter nods. "It's complicated. Someday I'll tell you, Draco." He continues to look straight ahead.

What the heck does that mean? I didn't pester him about it though. I look at my own hands. They're definitely a lot smaller than his and smoother too. (Like a baby's bottom!) "Why do you call me Draco?" I ask quietly.

"It's your name, or have you forgotten that?"

I glower at him.

He shrugs. "I don't know. I guess it's because you're actually a nicer person than I thought you'd be. Even back then you weren't so bad."

We stop in front of the lake. Potter smirks smugly at me. I didn't know that Potter could give a smug look. "Would you do it if I dared you to jump into the lake?"

I gasp, shocked. "No!"

"Why? Scared, Malfoy?"

I glare at him. "You wish. But I'm still not doing it, so don't even think about it. "

He suddenly unzips his jacket and pulls off his shirt.

I look around rapidly. "Potter, what on Merlin's beard are you trying to pull? This isn't funny! You could die of hypothermia," I retort fiercely. "Don't be silly!" I reach out to pull him back, but then I quickly remind myself that whatever Potter does is none of my business. "Fine, Potter, die if you want. I'm not going to stop you." I take a few steps back.

Potter grins at me, before kicking off his shoes and unzipping his pants. "Okay, Draco."

I glare at him more. "Just to let you know, that water could easily be ten degrees…or _lower_." When he doesn't reply, I continue, "See, this is why the percentage of Gryffindor deaths per year is much higher than the other houses. It's because they do stupid things that kill them."

Potter chuckles. "Are you trying to pull education into this? I don't even think that's valid."

I cover my mouth with a fake shocked expression. "Oh my god. Potter just said a word that starts with a 'v.' I didn't know his vocabulary could extend that far." It was pitiful attempt at insulting him, but it was the first thing that popped to my mind. I kick my feet into the grass, only to gain splattered mud over my legs.

When Potter was dressed only in boxers, he turns to me slowly and looks at me. His hair was already soaked by now, and his boxers were getting soggy as well. I force myself not to let my eyes linger. I didn't want him to think that I was taking advantage of the situation by checking out his body. So, I kept my eyes firmly glued to his left ear.

"Potter, I'm warning you…" I say in the most threatening voice that a Malfoy can muster. I purse my lips.

Whoa, whoa. What is he looking at? Is he looking at my chin? Did I forget to wipe off the sauce from my chin during lunch? Hold on – what if I had a pimple on my chin?

"Potter, I'm up here," I snap, trying to avert the attention away from my chin. "Why do you keep looking down there?"

He blushes and looks up at me. His blush soon goes away as he says, "You know, Draco, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were worried for me."

I hold a hand to my heart dramatically. "I'm not _worried_. Mind you, I just don't want to have to go through every class with everyone sobbing over the death of the boy-who-lived."

Potter takes a step closer to me. Don't look at his chest, Draco; don't look at his fit, lean, chest. "What would you do if I…"

"If you what –?" Before I knew it, Potter pointed his wand at me and casted a quick spell. Oh my god! He just removed my barrier and warmth! Suddenly, I feel the icy rain pour over me. "_Potter_! I'm going to _kill_ you!" I screech. Potter lets out a laugh and suddenly kicks mud at me.

If there's one thing I hate more than anything else, it's definitely getting dirty. Who knows what could be in this mud? It could've been a combination of rain, dirt, grass, and maybe even feces. I shudder. "Potter, stop it!"

He only kicks more.

I try to tackle his legs with my own leg, but we quickly became entangled with one another and fell over. Suddenly, I found myself staring up at Potter's neck. Potter – was lying – on top of _me_. He lifts his head and looks at me, and for a moment, we only stared at each other before realizing what was happening.

"Potter, get off of me! You're only pushing me into the mud even more! Get off!" I snap. He hurriedly removes himself from me and stands up. Potter lends me his hand, which I angrily take. "Thanks a lot, Potter," I spit. "I'm now wet, cold, and _dirty_."

He looks at me worriedly. "Did I hurt you, Draco? Are you okay?"

I glare at him. "I'm fine." I sigh, looking up at the sky. "It's getting really dark. I'm going to go inside now."

"I'll go with you."

I didn't reply. As we walk back, Potter suddenly says, "You know, I used to be scared of the dark."

I blink at him. "Okay…"

He laughs. "But I'm used to it by now. My uncle used to lock me up in a broom closet."

My jaw drops. "No way! The famous Harry Potter…locked in a broom closet?" I shake my head.

"It's true," he says. "Also, Ron was my first friend. Ever."

I smirk. "Of course." I pause. "Why are you telling me all this?" The lights from the windows of the castle were alluring and welcoming. The castle was getting closer. Only a few more meters.

Potter shrugs. "If we're going to be friends, we might as well get to know each other a little."

I nod, blushing. I quickly hide my face from his view so that he doesn't see my pink face. Potter is actually officially my friend! I remember the first time I saw him. He looked like a tiny kid. When I offered him my friendship, he turned it down. I can't believe that he's actually calling himself a friend of mine. "Agreed," I say with a sheepish smile.

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Hey everyone! I just started new classes (new quarter). Whoo-hoo! So, it's almost my birthday. It's in May! Okay, so, it's a bit far away, but I like to plain early. My wish is to end child hunger. That's impossible though!

BTW I have Honors Physical Science now...um...yeah...It's dreadful! Okay, so I've only had new classes for nearly three days now and my teacher has already given out essays that I have to do overnight! And they're really long and complicated and about atoms and such and everyone who knows me would know that I suck at science!

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**Reviews**

**RedPandaGirl: Your comment really shocked me! I'm SO flattered that I helped you......Wait a second...What did I do?! Either way, I'm glad that I helped you and if you need more help, never hesitate to ask. Unless it's about Science because I suck at it. But I'm great at Geography! :D**

**xthirteenx: Dude, I'm loving the enthusiasm! :)**

**dragonlilly1993: Yes, Draco's kidnapped...big shocker! :D**

**pbforever: Thank, thank you very much! (-- A failed impersonation of Elvis.)**

**Lacross_Rules: I love lacross and I hope I won't have breaks in between...?**

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By the way, I just realized that "I Shouldn't Be Alive" is airing another season...FINALLY! I'd thought that it had ended long ago!

And because I've only been sleeping, eating, jogging, and doing gross homework, I spend practically half of my free time watching TV, most especially Animal Planet. Hey, it's actually pretty good! So, I've been watching "Monsters Inside Me" and "Weird, True, and Freaky" and "Untamed and Uncut." Yeah...It's pretty great.

And I not only watch the Animal Planet, but I also like to watch the Food Network and TLC. Like...That's pretty pathetic if you ask me!

"Cake Boss" fans...Anyone out there?

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**Review + Read + Rawr!**


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